Ultra Vires Vol 6 Issue 1 2004 Sept

THE

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

NEWSPAPER

OF THE UNIVERSITY

OF TORONTO

FACULTY

OF LAW

u tra vires VOLUME

6 ISSUE

1

SEPTEMBER

14,

SINCE 1999 WWW.ULTRAVIRES.CA

2004

TJaden files grievance over Chief Librarian selection Former Michigan librarian appointed despite University policy emphasizing continuity

BY SIMREN DESAI

LAW

STUDENTS

LEARN

WHAT

DENNING

WAS

TALKING

ABOUT

UV has learned that the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) is representing Ted Tjaden, the Bora Laskin Law Library's current Coordinator of Information Services, in a grievance be has filed witb the University of Toronto. Sources indicate that the grievance is over the. fairness of the Faculty of Law's selection of Beatrice Tice as the new Chief Law Librarian (CLL), over Tjaden and other candidates.

When approached by UV for comment, .

Tjaden simply stated that be was "disappointed with the Faculty's decision."

However, when prompted for elaboration on the nature and basis of his grievance, he declined to comment, at the advice of lawyers at the UTFA. The Memorandum of Agreement between the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Faculty Association sets out, in article 7, the process for the filing of grievances by faculty and librarians at the University. Sources indicate Tjaden has already exhausted the first step in the process, whereby the grievor first speaks First- and upper-year law students gathered on Toronto Islands as part of Orienation Week on September 11. orally to the "department Chair or equivalent," and the second step whereby the grievor, if unsatisfied with the department Chair's response, seeks a written decision on the matter by the dean of the Faculty. The outcome of step two is not public information; sources however, indicated that the Faculty declined a settlement offer made by Tjaden's lawyers.

Beginning on September I, the appointment with him."

BY BEN ARKIN He left a lasting legacy at the Faculty of Associate Dean Lome Sossin did not prowill continue until either a new President is vide any insight into the Faculty's rationale For Frank Iacobucci, Canadian society and appointed or until June, 2005. He replaces Law, appointing four new professors includin the second step, nor did he confirm the legal profession are works in progress. In Professor Robert J. Birgeneau, a renowned ing two women who would be only the secwhether the Faculty of Law is in negotiahis keynote address to students attending the physicist and native of Canada, who ond and third ever to serve as members of tions with UTFA lawyers representing Faculty of Law first year orientation, he resigned from the post to become President the faculty. And, according to Weinrib, he Tjaden. Sossin did not even explicitly initiated the movement towards erecting the stressed that great works, like the building of of the University ofCalifomia at Berkeley. new buildings that now house the law a cathedral or the improvement of the Interim President Iacobucci has strong PLEASE SEE "GRIEVANCE" PAGE 7 Canadian justice system, will only be ties to the University of Toronto. He was a library and main classrooms.

Iacobucci's address to the first year class accomplished when the individuals involved member of the Faculty of Law from 1967 to make a contribution to a greater good. And 1985, Dean of Law from 1979 to 1983, and was marked hy humour. "Coming back to the University after 20 years reminds me of as he entreated students to fulfill this duty, he Vice President and Provost of the University made it clear that he had not yet finished ful- from 1983 to 1985. In all of those roles he Rip van Winkle," he said, "you will recall filling his own. was seen as a practical and capable adminis- that Rip went to sleep for 20 years. I went to • ANANCIAL AID P.3 Despite recently retiring at the age of 67 trator. "He saw what things were important Ottawa." But his core message was more from fifteen years of service as a justice of and he had a sense of humour," says serious. He cited such challenges as the • NEW FACULTY P.5 the Supreme Court of Canada, Iacobucci Professor Arnold Weinrib, who taught at the transformation of law into a business, dimin• ROMANOW TALK P.16 recently accepted an appointment as Interim Faculty during Iacobucci's tenure as Dean, • NOVELS BY lAWYERS P.22 President of the University of Toronto. "and nobody I know had problems working PlEASE SEE "IACOBUCCI" PAGE 2

Iacobucci named Interim President

Won't accept appointment as permanent President he says in exclusive interview

UVINDEX

ENJOY

BEING

(H ALL ENG ED? (I)

OSLER, HoSKIN &

HARcouRT

14 SEPTEMBER 2004

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Law students score in Magna PM contest

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some time to make recommendauons on how to incorporate timely account109 mechanisms into government spending.

Sean Keating's essay focuses on Canada's "political sacred cows."

"There are tau many issues in Canadian politics that are stuck in tbe samc cyclical debate. I argued thai Canada has a strong history ofunderlying values and a tradition of reform that we should look to in order to resolve these sacred cow issues."

Hailing from Atlantic Canada, Keating believes this perspective, as well as his focus on Canadian history, may bave belped distinguish his essay from those of other entrants If tbe past is any indication, Keating and Strawczynski have good chances at taking the first prize in November.

Robin Rix(JD '04) won the contest in 2002, and Ricbard Meloff(LtBIMBA '02) in 2000.

The top floor of Bora Laskin Law Library was closed for six hours last Thursday afternoon after a SUSpiCIOUS smell was encountered by library patrons.

Two U of T law students are among The odor was first noticed at approxthc top ten finalists of the As Prime imately noon on Thursday, September Minister Awards, the essay contest 9, and officials from the university's sponsored by Manga International.

Office of Environmental Health and Scan Keating (III) and Juda Safety were immediately contacted Strawczynski (III) submitted essays in Upon arrival, the source was deterJune. and were among fifty entrants mined to be diesel fuel leaking from invited to a weekend in early-August to generators mounted on top of the be judged before a national panel. At library building. Tbe fuel bad leaked the conclusion of the weekend, ten stutbrough the roof into the building, dents were selected as finalists, receivspilbng directly into the journal stacks rng a $ I 0,000 award. Tbe winner, JUst east of the west staircase. already selected dunng the August ~t first, library staff advised stu- weekend, but as ofyetunrevealed,will denl$ aJ!(! faculty to stay off tbe third be announced in Noyember, aad MIl JJoen; said John Papdopoulos, receive a furtber $10 000 and the onnauon Servic~ Librarian, "aod chance to work at Magna. International altiloll3h lbe he.dth and safetY officials for a one year rotemship. wid us that we didu'l need to close the The well-known 00Dt~ asks stuJohn Norquay llocir l:OJnPletely, after lbey identified <lentil to subrmt an of2,5oo words the SllUl'CC, we decided it was best to do detailing wbat lbey, as Prime Minister $I) becali8ll of the smell and lbe potenof Canada, would do to make tbe counWt.I tlll1lBtlllbility." try a better place. the tbtid floor- was closed at iitlI1roxtess than a year after be started, loda Stra'i\lczynski 2.30 Plll.lilI4 T~ closed Dil:ector of Admissions and Finan~ial elJllll.Y to be a

easay

Vellanlleavlng Faculty

torate

BY JONATHAN DESBARATS

of ~

III researching and writing on Rolt of Comparative Legal Systems in Securing Inclusive Environments for Disabled People," During his time at the Faculty of Law. Vellani brought" fresh perspective to the Admissions and Financial Aid Office, and was able to increase the profile of community outreach programs. Among other initiatives. a priority has been bringing information about law and the Law School to high school students and others who might nor consider a career in law or at U of T through programs such as the Summer Mcntership Program.

In reflecting on his time at the Faculty, Veil ani mentioned that he "enjoyed interacting with students and greatly appreciated the student volunteers" wbo helped with the programs along the way. Describing the Faculty as a "fantastic place," Vellani expressed hop;' that his successor will be able to increase awareness of tbe financial aid programs thatexist, such as the Back-End Debt Relief Program. and cnsure thar they are better under stood by students.

the

~ Andrew Pilliar

1

iU" "\.U"~.

Iacobucci sits down with UV Lang Michener Lawyers - Patent

&. Trade

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 LLP

Mark Agents

Toronto BCE Place 181 Bay Street, Suite 2500 P,O. Box 747 Toronto ON M5J 2T7

Attention: Scott Whitley Director of Professional Tel, 416-360-6600 Fax: 416-365-1719

Development

ishing quality oflife for lawyers, and lack of accessibility to the courts. His focus, thougb, was on diversity. "The most important positive development has been the increasing participation on a relative scale of women and those from other minorities. It's the number one cbange, in my hook, of my 45 some years associated with the law."

As the son of immigrant, working-class parents, Iacobucci himself suffered discrimination as did his wife, Nancy, who was one of the first female graduates of Harvard law school. This perbaps e"plains wby, in an exclusive interview with Ultra Vires, he named the same priorities for the University administration that be hoped would be adopted by the future lawyers he was addressing. '1 don't want to be just a C8I1'taker, and the university can't afford a caretaker. This whole question of diversity is a huge challenge for the university and I am very much going to keep on top of it."

His other top priority is accessibility. ''Thilion sbouLdbe looked at as a range from zero 10 a limit," said Iacobucci about his views on this subject. "If we don't, we're going to be defeating our mandate, which [ believe is to be very sensitive to both quality and accessibility. If we don't, we'U be turning back the clock on what we've made." Accessibility will be one of the main focuses of the Rae Review, the Ontario goverru:nent's study of post-secondary education, and in which participation could prove to be Iacobucci's most time-consuming and arguably most important challenge as mterim President.

Asked whether he has any interest in pur-

Interim President Orientation Week.

Iacobucci

speaks

3

Financial aid calculus produces some shocking results

ve ~~"..l0ll

NEWS

at

suing lilese goals as the new President of the

University, Iacobucci replied, "none whatsoever, in block caps, underlined and italicized. I left the Supreme Court," he explained, "not because I didn't like it. 1 loved the work. It was to try to real",e other things in our lives that we had not been able to. We have grandchildren now and want to spend more time with them. And my wife, more than anyone, deserves reducing the gap lilat is between us due to what she had done for me and the family. I get quite emotional about that."

Nominations for membership on the Presidential Search Committee closed on August 30 and it is expected that the names of members will be announced on September 23.1n the meantime, students can hope that schooL will benefit from Iacobucci's apparent personal and professionaLcomminnent to the values of public service, diversity, and accessibility.

It's the most higbly anticipated moment of the summer for many law students: opening that cream-coloured envelope from the Financial Aid Office that tells us how much, or how little, bursary money we've received from the school to help offset the high cost of tuition.

In many cases the discrepancy in financial aid from one year to the next is as drastic as it is unpredictable. Take the case of Randy (not his real name), a third year law student who received approximately $12,000 less in funding this year over last.

"It came as an extreme shock as I'm sure you can imagine," said Randy. "I fail to understand how it can happen - the answer you get is 'we just plug in tbe nwnbers and this is what comes out.' I don't think anyone understands the financial aid system - and when I say anyone I mean anyone."

Randy is not unique in this respect other students have come to Ultra Vires in recent days with similar stories of having received far less financial aid than tbey had expected, Tbe real issue for these students is not necessarily the amount of funding they receive from year to year, but the unpredictability and opaqueness of the financial aid process. For better or for worse, many law students make career decisions based on financial projections.

Without being able to accurately predict the amount of debt they will be carrying upon graduation, students may fmd it dif¡

incomes, and as the school continues their fundraising efforts. When the dust has settled, the school hopes to have awarded more in the way of financial aid this year tban last.

"Our financial aid awards are only in a provisional state rigbt now and we will be providing final awards in a few weeks once students submit flnal documentation relating to their summer income and parental income. We cannot finalize awards until we get that documentation so we are really encouraging students to submit their documentation as soon as possiis less in the way of ble," said Chiang, in an email response to financial aid. As Ultra Vires.

Chiang also insisted that other financial well, as students get aid programs, sucb as back-end debt relief, into the upper years, more students do not have not been substantiaUy affected by the report parental income. Once a student has freeze. In fact, the administration is trying been out of high school for seven years, to find ways of improving the fund, and of encouraging more people to apply. tbey are exempt from having to disclose "People think: you have to be living the amount of money their parents earn ~ a rule which has been phased out for this below the poverty line to qualify, wbich is year's incoming class. That leads to an not true," said Vellani.

Back-end debt relief is targeted to stuincrease in the number of students receivdents wbo, upon graduation, earn less than ing Financial Aid. Assistant Dean Lois Chiang, who is the $40,000 per year. It comes in the form of interest-free loans, which are gradually Chair, of the Financial Aid Committee, forgiven provided the student continues to acknowledged that there is less tuition money than anticipated for financial aid earn less than the threshold amount. It is programs as a result of the freeze (30 per expected tbat a report from the Financial Aid Committee outlining ways to improve cent of all tuition increases are earmarked the program will be tabled at a Faculty for Financial Aid programs as per governCouncil meeting sometime in the fall, said ment regulations), but noted that more Chiang. money may become available when students begin to report their summer

ficult, if not impossible, to make informed thing last April it would have given studecisions. And it doesn't help tbat tbe dents the opportunity to take that into funding assessments arrive after third-year account in making their decisions," he students have decided where to pursue said. their articles.

Fayyaz Vellani, Director of Admissions "To me the fact that I could go from and Financial Aid, pointed out that there receiving such a large amount to such a are a number of reasons why students relatively small amount in one year is a bit might receive less in the way of bursary problematic," said --------------money from one Randy. "In some "In many cases the year to the next. ways Ichose the job Students wbo earn I took in the sum- ¡discrepancy in financial aid significant incomes mer based on an in the summer will expectation of what from one year to the next is obviously receive

I'd received the last as drastic as it two years [in the way of bursary unpredictable" funds]. At a bare minimum they should be able to say 'you received this much last year based on this reason and you're getting this mueb this year for this reason'."

Part of the reduction in funding some students experienced might be attributable to the province-wide tuition freeze instituted in April by the newly-elected Liberal government in Ontario, which is a sad irony for thos~ students wbo supported the freeze in the name of increased accessibility to post-secondary education. Students like Randy feel that, if at all possible, they should have been forewarned of tbe coming crunch.

"My biggest complaint is that I bad no beads-up as to how this would play out. If [school administrators] had said some-

NBNS

4

ULTRA VIRES

Orientation week features fresh frosh activities September 7 marked the first day of Orientation 2004 for first-year, transfer, exchange and NCA (National Committee 00 Accreditation) students. Approximately 220 students participated in Orientation, which was organized hy the Orientation Committee chaired by Leslie Church (ll) and Andrew Pilliar (II). Dozens of upper year students also volunteered their time at Orientation.

Orientation is a week-long event designed to introduce incoming students to their classmates, their professors, and the law school itself. This year's Orientation included many of the same events seen in past years, with some significant changes.

According to Church, organizers attempted to hold a diversity of events to meet the needs of students of different ages, backgrounds, and interests. Planning for Orientation began seriously in May, with registration and fundraising taking place in June and July. The Orientation Committee spent August pulling together the final details for the first week of school.

On the first day of school, new students were greeted by Pilliar and Church and hy their group leaders - upper-year volunteers. Students were divided into groups of seven or eight, with two. leaders for every group. The groups went on tours of the hbrary and the \aw school, received their

class schedules, and bought books at the Bookstore. Tuesday also included the Cluhs Fair, Dean Daniel's official welcome to first-years, and the Dean's BBQ, as well as a lunch panel with Professors Fernandez, Gaudreault-DesBiens, Roach and Austin. The panel discussion was a highlight of the day for many students, including Erin Murray, who says she appreciated the professors' message that going to ¡Iaw school does not mean you have to "lose your individuality."

Orientation included several other speakers from the legal community, including retired Supreme Court Justice and Interim U of T President Frank Iacobucci, criminal lawyer Paul Copeland, and Neena Gupta, an employment and human rights lawyer. First-year student Nikki Davy was especially inspired by Gupta's speech. According to Davy, Gupta's stories "demonstrated the difference that one person can make." addition to speakers, Orientation involved many different social events. The boat cruise, a staple of past Orientations, was cancelled and replaced by a combined photo scavenger hunt and pub crawl. Each group was given a different route to follow, and was asked to take pictures of different things on the way, such as the maximum number of law students it could fit into a telephone booth. The groups stopped at two bars on the way to the final

In

choice ,

,

At Ogilvy Renault, the

plurality of personalities and expertise is a true strength of the firm. Not only does it allow me to work with people who are different from me, but it allows

Faculty welcomes new faces

BY JOHN NORQUAY

Students dine with Professor Stewart on the first day of Orientation. destination, Fez Batik, where the partying continued. Despite the poor weather (thanks to the "remnants" of Hurricane Frances), around 140 students took part ill the scavenger hunt. Other social events included dinner with a small.group of new students, upper-year volunteers and a professor, and Lord Denning's Toronto Island Picnic on Saturday.

In addition to planning new events this year, the Orientation Committee also took a new approach to registration. The Committee established a website over the summer where students could register and learn infonuation about Orientation and the law school. This served as the main form of communication between the Committee and incoming students.

According to Committee member Evan Thomas (IT), the website has received an average of 50 hits per day since July, and greatly simplified the registration process for organizers.

Students were also able to sign up for the Students' Law Society mentorship program on the website. Students interested in the program provided information about their hometown, previous university programs, whether they were mature students or parents, and what extra-curricular activities or combined programs they were interested in. Group leaders were also

asked to provide information, and were matched with incoming students on this basis. Students who did not want to participate in the mentorship program were randomly assigned to groups.

Overall, hoth incoming students and upper-year students found Orientation to be very successful. Second-year volunteer Andrew Winton commented that it was clear that a lot of hard work and preparation went into Orientation, and that it was well-organized so that "everyone knew where to go, and when." New student Bushra Rehman agreed, and added that Orientation was "comprehensive," addressing many different aspects of starting law school. First-year students Sarah Hudson and Claire Young also found Orientation helpful. Neither Hudson nor Young are from Toronto, and appreciated the off-campus activities, whicb they say helped introduce them to the city.

The biggest criticism some participants had of Orientation was that it was too busy, and that they were exhausted by the end of the week. Nonetheless, most participants found Orientation to be a positive introduction to the Faculty, and beginning to their time at V ofT. The Orientation website can befound at www.uoftlaworientation.ca.

The government-mandated freeze on tuition fee increases has not resulted in a freeze on hiring at the Faculty. No fewer than four new professors have joining us for the upcoming academic year.

Professor Benjamin Alarie is no stranger to the law school, having graduated with his ID from V ofT in 2002. Indeed from his office door on the third floor of the Bora Laskin Library, one can just about see the door to the office of the Law Review, where Alarie was Senior Editor of the Business Law cell group in his third year.

"I had a great time at law school," he explained, describing the prospect of coming back to U of T to work as "a dream scenario."

Indeed, Prof. Alarie seems to have lived a dream over the past few years. After graduating from V ofT, he completed an LLM at Yale and was married in the summer of 2003 before taking on a clerkship with Justice Arbour at the Supreme Court this past year. The offer to take the position with the Faculty came only days after he learned of Arbour's early departure.

On the teaching front, Alarie will be Professor Alarie tackling a first year contracts small group, and an upper year course in Canadian Income Tax Law. As of the date of publication, the tax law course has 98 students subscribed making it the biggest class at the law school. "!t's a little daunting, but 1 think that it

the firm to serve the needs of different clients. ,

,

DanieL Leduc dleduc@ogilvyrenault.com

Professor Fernandez

OGILVY RENAULT

OfI:llvyrenault.com

5

Hiring marked by emphasis on diverse backgrounds

New website assists in promotion, easing pain of registration

BY HILARY BOOK

NEWS

14 SEPTEMBER 2004

Orientation Week Committee at Toronto Island. From left to right: Kristina Hyland (II), Keir Wilmut (II), Anne Weintrop (II), Jeremy Ehrlich (IT), Leslie Church (II, Co-Chair), Kate Stigler (Il), Evan Thomas (IT). The photographer is Co-Chair Andrew Pilliar (II).

will be fun."

Professor Alarie also plans to assist Prof. Duff with the Tax Law & Policy series and looks forward to working with his Law and Economics professors-turnedcolleagues.

Originally hailing from KitchenerWaterloo, Alarie completed a BA in Economics and Finance from Wilfred

Laurier University before embarking on his law career.

Just down the hall from Professor Alarie is the office of the other Canadian hire, Professor Angela Fernandez, who was born in Montreal, but raised in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Despite her roots in two notoriously anti-Toronto locales, she is happy to find herself in the city where she has moved with her new husband. The two met while doing their LLBs at McGill, and were married this summer. He is working at a downtown firm.

Prof. Fernandez's academic credentials are impressive. She holds a BA and MA in Philosophy from McGill and Queen's University, a LLB and BCL from McGill, and an LLM from Yale. She is currently .completely her JSD at Yale which focuses on the history of legal education.

want to be an academic. Second, I knew I wanted to go back to Israel at the end of my degree."

Prof. Katz spent three years working at the Israeli Anti-Trust Authority, but has since found academics to be equally stimulating to practice, and "as much fun." He has been appointed to the Faculty as the Electronic Commerce Professor Katz Chair for the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy, and plans to remain in Toronto for some time.

Katz will teach "Issues of Competition Law, Intellectual Property and International Trade" in first term, and Cyberlaw in second term. While it is not his first time teaching, it will be his first time teaching a university course.

"1 hope that it will be interactive. As a "student, T hated taking notes, although 1 know that sometimes it is necessary," Joining him in Toronto are his son and his wife, who is starting a Masters of Social Work this Septernoer.

Although it might not have been obvi-' ous as be participated in Orientation Week events, Frederic Megret was taking his

This year, Fernandez will teach a first year contracts small group, as well as a second term course on legal history. "1 like the fact that they don't start first year professors off with a full teaching .Ioad," admits Prof. Fernandez, "although I am looking forward to furore years whereI hope to offer a seminar on the history of legal education, if there is the appetite for that among students."

Prof. Fernandez is also happy to be joining Prof. GaudreaultDesbiens, also from McGill, who shares her bijuridical background, and disclosed that students and faculty can look forward to more work being done in that area at the law school.

This is Professor Ariel Katz's fourth year at the law school, as he moved to Toronto from Israel three years ago for his SID, after completing his LLB and LLM at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a good example of how plans can quickly change.

"Before moving to Canada, I was sure of two things. First, I knew that I didn't

first steps in Toronto as he joined first years in the Orientation Week tent last Tuseday. ''I am very much a first year myself," be said, having driven down the 40 I from Montreal for the first time on Labour Day. Prof. Megret was born and raised in France, completing his law degrees at the Universite de Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne) and Kings College in London.

He also holds a Masters in International Law from the prestigious Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris Professor Megret (more commonly known as "Sciences Po"), and is currently completing a PhD analyzing the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. He spent the last year as a Boulton Fellow at McGill, before accepting the position at U of T. Besides his academic credentials in international law, Megret has a wealth of experience working in international law, including very hands-on experience serving as a blue helmet in Sarajevo for five months in 1995 where he was trained as a. sniper.

Prof. Megret is happy to find himself in North America, where he plans to stay "for a long time." He credits this to the dynamism of North American universities

versus the French system, and the "relatively light weight of administrative obligations" imposed on professors. Originally surprised to be recruited for the position, he sees an emerging trend among Canadian universities to hire international law professors from outside Canada and considers himself "immensely privileged" to be part ofthat trend at U of T. On the teaching side, Prof. Megret will instruct for the Laws of War in fit<;;lterm and Global Human R\gnts in the wmtcr.

He taught courses at McG\\\, and bas \ecturing expertcnce. 'Btl\\ be fmds teacb.\t.\,& challenging. and admitted that "it may take a few years to find a style ." He also looks forward to spending a lot of time listening

and being available to his students - what he hopes will be a contrast to his experience as a student in France.

, I

I

1

I

I

i

As a "first year," Megret will also spend time building his Canadian legal knowledge. So do not be surprised if you see him sitting in on a lecture or two.

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56

6

NBNS

Third-years endure articling process

ULTRAVIRES

Orientatlon2004.PIIoto5cM.rHunt

iM

DC

t

NEWS

14 SEPTEMEBER 2004

7

Orientation 2004 â&#x20AC;˘ Photo Scavenger Hunt

BY JOHN NORQUAY

about that."

A majority of third-year students did "I had never actually hcen hired for ajob not endure the application and interview since I had been at law school, so until process. Most will article at the same the calls for interviews came in, I was a firms that they summered at - for the little nervous about the whole thing." most part, large full-service firms in Like many third year students, Ingrid Toronto, other large Canadian cities, and Grant (III) spent July and August pera few in the U.S. "As usual we have seen fecting resumes, writing cover letters, a lot of hireback, and U of T students and collecting references in preparation have also seen strong, strong results in for the articling applicatinn and interterms of clerkships." A total of 20 stuview process. With applications due on dents have been hired at courts of all levJuly 16, and interviews taking place the els. second week nf August, it was a stressful As a result of a students leaving for time for the many students who, .either judicial clerkships, as well as tbe fact by choice or by necessity, would not be that many firms higher more articling articling with the same employer they students than summer students, there had summered with. were Bay Street jobs to be had in the According to Bonnie Goldberg, articJing recruitment process.

Assistant Dean, Career Services, results Adam Lewinherg (III) did not get an make the move to a full-service firm was were excellent. "U ofT students consisoffer during OCls last autumn, instead tently do better in the articling recruitsettling for a job with the Town of not that I had lost my interest in enviment process than students from other Oakville. "I had a significant number of ronmental law, but that I thought a welllaw schools, and this year is certainly no interviews during the OCI process and rounded articling 'program would make exception," she said. realized that the fact that I did not get an me a more effective lawyer in the long Grant, an elected member of the offer was due to my interview technique, run. While for second-year summer jobs Downtown Legal Services student execor lack thereof. So, I spent a significant I still feigned an interest in corporateutive, was part of that trend. She was time on interview technique."

Adam commercial law, I was more honest with lucky enough to receive multiple offers, applied again to Bay Street firms, and myself and my interviewers this time and will be articling in the criminal round." . has secured a position at Blakes. defence division at Sack Goldblatt Also successful in obtaining a Bay Articling recruitment had the potenMitchell, where she will begin in Street articling position was Sven tial to be daunting for those students September 2005. "I was confident that Hornbach (III) who summered at a small who did not have any law employment my summer experience at DLS would he environmental litigation finn. "I told my experience. Bryce Rudyk (III) spent the valuable, and I ended up being right interviewers that the reason 1 tried to summer as the National Coordinator of

Pro Bono Students Canada, but applied to a variety of Bay Street firms, small lit- . igation outfits, and government departments.

"When I first applied, I wasn't worried about my lack of law experience because I think that there are so many more relevant things that employers take into consideration when hiring. And, to be honest, I hadn't even made up my mind if I even wanted to practice. But after getting interview offers, and getting sucked into the whole thing, it did PLEASE SEE "COO" ON PAGE 8

Grievance procedure eventually public CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 acknowledge that a grievance had been filed.

"I cannot speak to any complaint which may have been brought," he said.

Sossin noted that there are several differences between the process for selecting a professor and that used by the Faculty in the selection of the new CLL. "Unlike the hiring of a law professor, the selection of a Dew Chief Law Librarian was not undertaken by the Faculty alone - it was a collaborative search committee involving members of the Faculty, University Library and Bora Laskin

Law Library communities, which was cochaired by the University's Chief Librarian, Carole Moore, and the then Acting Dean, Brian Langille," said Sossin, who also sat on the committee. The process also differed from faculty hiring in that students did not participate in the search process. Sossin explained that the search "took place for the most part after the end of classes."

Students' Law ~Society (SLS) President James McClary indicated that while the Dean's Office emailed the SLS Student Caucus on April 14, 2004, to attend "job talks,"

consultation

sessions in relation to

potential new hires, "SLS members were not available at that time ... While the Dean's office did not contact the SLS during the summer, the SLS understands that this is because job talks have never occurred during the summer and there was no system in place for involving students outside nf the regular semesters."

When asked what criteria were used in the selection process, the Associate Dean pointed to the University of Toronto's website.

The University's Policies for Librarians in its Manual of Staff Policies AcademicslLibrarians sets the criteria in general terms. It is stated that in the making of senior

librarian

appointments

so-called

Consultative Cornrrcnees, such as \he one set up by the Faculty of La w; must consider rtne and administrative abilities of the potential appointee, his Or her capacity for leadership in librarianship, his or her qualities of common sense and mature judgment, and his or her ability to maintain the confidence or cooperation of staff Consultative Committees shall give particular consideration to the need for administrative continuity within the library system" Under the policies however, the University is not required to divulge the substance of the deliberations since "Consultative Committees shall meet in camera, and each of their members shall agree to treat as confidential all information given to the Committee all matters pertaining to its deliberations."

When asked to identify Tice's greatest strengths in the position of Chief Librarian, Sossin suggested that "she combines a clear vision of the critical role the library can and should play in the aspirations of a law school, the resolve and resilience of a former litigator, a deep commitment to legal education and scholarship, and boundless energy to enrich the library and the law school communities at U ofT." Sources say Tjaden h~ now initiated step three under the Memorandum of Agreement, applying to University Vice President and Provost Vivek Goel, who must provide a written decision by Friday, September 17. If Tjaden is still not satisfied, he may appeal directly to President of the University, an office temporarily held by former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci, who would appoint a special "Grievance Committee" to review the complaint, under step four of the grievance procedure. The proceedings and findings of the Grievance Committee would be publicly available. UTFA's legal counsel professional

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was unable to speak regarding the case, but confirmed that this step of the process would be public.

While the University's librarian hiring policies place central importance on a number of subjective criteria, Tice clearly has a very strong resume. In his announcement of the appointment to the Faculty, then Acting Dean Brian Langille noted that Tice is joining the University of Toronto from the University of Michigan, where she was a Senior Associate Law Librarian. "She is a ill graduate (with distinction) of the Stanford Law School where she was Senior "Editor of the Law Review> and recerved net' W-."lS W\tb.

S'{lec\a\ Cettincate \u 'Law L\brnriansbip from the Un.\ven.\t'j ot Washington. Prior to Stanli:Jrd she received

an MA in Linguistics trom Yale and a BA magna cum laude fiom Pamona College.

She practiced as a litigator in California for a number of years after graduating from Stanford and before attending Washington to obtain her MLIS. She works in a number of languages including French and German, and she is an expert in Foreign and International Law," said the Acting Dean.

Tjaden has an LLB from Queen's University, an MISt at the University of Toronto, and is currently completing a parttime LLM at the U ofT. In addition to having served as a librarian and part-time instructor at the Faculty of Law for the past five years, he is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Faculty of Information Studies. Prior to his time at the University of Toronto, Tjaden was in private practice for eight years. Tjaden is a widely recognized expert in Canadian legal research and internet and online legal research. He recently was a feature speaker at a one day conference held by the Ontario Bar Association on the topic of internet research, is the author of LLRX.com's website entitled "Doing Legal Research in Canada," has written a book entitled Legal Research and Writing, and a treatise entitled The Law of Independent Legal Advice, in addition to numerous papers on a variety of topics.

Provost Goel was not available for comment at the time of publication. Tice declined to comment, stating that while she "would very much like to be introduced to the Faculty community ... and share some of [her1 ideas for the growth and development of the Library," she thought that expressing her vision alongside the discussion of Tjaden's complaint might "distract readers and unintentionally create a bad impression."

r

-- --NEWS

8

ULTRA VIRES

become a little more stressful."

Rudyk was also ultimately successful, and will be articling at Lerners, the downtown litigation firm.

Karen Murdock (III) was in a unique position. She had split her summer between Goodmans and the Crown Law Office - Criminal, and had offers to return to article at both. "It was a very difficult decision - they are hnth great places to work and I would highly recommend either one. I was lucky to have the chance to see what hoth government and private practice are like, and the truth is I wasn't sure about whether I really wanted to do criminal law for the rest of my life, and felt that articling in a

Judicial Clerkshlps 2004-05 Supreme Covrtof canada -sana HaJwanl (AbeIIaJ.)

08Vlct Usson (Binnie JJ ElderMarqlitlS (PtfCI:.adJIln CJ.C,)

E'8IlIijlPWlilJiS ~~J.l

civil firm might leave more options open later on." Murdock also applied to several small, progressive civil litigation firms before finally deciding to return tn Goodmans.

Despite the success of many students, there was a significant number who did not get an articling position during the August interviews.

"We have a fantasy that we can get one hundred per cent, but we wi II never have that in the fall," explained Bonnie Goldberg. She estimates the number of students who did not receive an articling position to be somewhere in the vicinity of ten per cent of the third year class, although it is difficult to be sure as not all students have reported back tn the Career Development Office (CDO).

Ontario Court of APpeal John Adair Dan Glover' larissa Rudennan AmySsIyzyn

For those students currently without articles, CDO staff will be working hard in the coming weeks and months to help them secure a position. Among the resources available is a confidential email list which consolidates public postings from the Law Society website, as well including positions with firms and lawyers who have contacted the CDO directly, specifically to request a U of T student.

Lianne Krakauer, Director of Career Development Programs, was confident that every student without an articling position would not have a problem finding one shortly. "Just in the last three weeks, we've had new positions opening up in firms and io government. We had a sole-practitioner call saying he had an

HELMUT

9

HELMUT dispenses advice to students of all years

CDO: Chances good for students still seeking articles CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

14 SEPTEMBER 2004

unexpected need for an articling position because of a large case he was working on," continued Krakauer.

Goldberg explained part nf the reason for this phenomenon, saying she felt that "many firms were being conservative during the formal recruitment process, and now realize that they will be requiring an articling student."

"Often it's the case with public interest firms or the clinics that they will get their funding later in the year," added Krakauer.

Students seeking articles should contact Suzanne Bambrick, the Recruitment Coordinator at Ihe CDO.

Alberta Court of OUlllln's Bllnch and Court of APPllill Matthew Pierce Aristotle Sarantis

Fedllral Court of Appeal Anna Huculak Gabrielle Larocque Jessica Orkin

British Columbia Co!!rt of Apollal Oren B1ck

Fedllral Court ofCaoada Sorcha 0' Carroll ZoeSinel Juda Strawczynski

DEAR HELMUT Feeling down? Health Enables Legal Minds althe UniversityoIToronto (HELMUT)oilers advice Dear HELMUT, I'm finding it difficult 10 gel 10 know people. Everyone else seems 10 have adjusted well 10 law school and is busy forming the life-long friendships I've heard so much about, but I haven iyet. I feel like I'm missing something. I worry thai I'm the antiSally Fields: "You hale me, you really, really hate me."

- Un-bonded infirst year Dear Un-bonded, Off the top, being the anti-Sally Fields may not be a terrible thing. Nevertheless, while first impressions and early encounters can be important, they're not everything. Certainly, you're not alone in feeling a little isolated. This happens every year, hut it usually happens quietly (otherwise, all the isolated people could get together, and then they'd likely he neither quiet nor isnlated). If it helps, other people are doubtless experiencing similar feelings. Law school, as with any change, can bring pangs of doubt, periods of withdrawal, and a little anxiety. But there are ways to break these spells or deal with them. Try re-connecting

with friends from your pre-law school life.

Spend some time away from the law school doing something you like. Try starting a short conversation with someone you don't know in your next class. Often, isolation can pass as you begin to settle into the demands of classes and begin' to develop a routine here. Don't forget that you're here for a reason, and that you have as much right to be here, and to be heard here, as anyone else. As somebody said last week: "Don't panic."

Dear HELMUT, I've just dropped off my job applications.

I think I've misspelled every firm s name, and that Ihey'li collectively make sure thai [ never work in this lawn - eva Should I leave the country to avoid the embarrassment of not getting any interviews?

- Panicking about OCIs Dear Panicking, First, the last sentence of the previous response applies to you as well. Second, fleeing the country can be expensive and might he a little rash at this point. Even if you DID spell every firm's name wrong (which we're sure you didn't), you shouldn't worry too much. Every year, plenty of people get interviews and get jobs in spite of their beliefs that everyone else put in better applications than they did.

However, plenty of other people don't get interviews or jobs. And their lives con-

tinue. Sometimes, a little failure in the interview process can lead to a lot of selfunderstanding that would otherwise have stayed hidden. 11may not feel great in the short term - in fact, it may feel pretty darun awful - but many people who don't get interviews or who don't do well through OCls find other work opportunities and look back on the whole experience as a chance to learn something.

In short, there's no use worrying DOW that your applications are in, so take a deep breath and get back to your life. If you get an interview, great, but even if you don't, try to take something valuable out of the experience - your career has not ended before it began.

waiting articling position. (On a side note, if you don't have that bean-bag chair, don't worry too much. You might want to consult the. article on articling in this issue.)

However, if you let yourself sink too far, you risk suffocation. Certainly you haven't climbed every peak there is at law school, have you? Come on - try making an effort to meet a few of the first years, grad students, or second years that you don't know.

Failing that, try to recharge by pursuing something outside of law school. Even if it doesn't help your apathy regarding school, it will likely make you a more interesting person in the coming years. And whatever you do, don't take up puppy-kicking. It's very inhumane.

Dear HELMUT, I'm in third year, and L'm finding it difficult to care about another ,year of taw school. In fact, I'm finding it difficult to care about much these days. I even saw a documentary on puppy-kicking, and I just couldn i bring myself to care. Have I lost what little soul I had?

- The Stranger

* * *

Dear Stranger, Without knowing how much soul you had to start, it's difficult to believe that you've lost it ALL. Try listening to some James Brown. Anything? It can be easy to become detached by third year, and to sink into the comfortable bean-bag chair that is a

Dear HELMUT is a column dedicated to answering questions you may have about coping with stress or difficulties at law school.

After the summer lockerrearrangement, we're trying to track down the HELMUT question box, though we may just make a new one. Alternatively, send any questions to . dear _helmut@ hotmail.com. Throughout the year, HELMUT will be holding events to improve the sense of community at the school, and to raise the profile of mental health issues. If you're interested, contact andrew.pitliar@utoTonto.ca or tamara.\ennox.@. utoronto.ca,

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ULTRA VIRES

CONVOCATION 2004

LORNE SOSSIN, ASSOCIATE DEAN First off, a heartfelt thanks to the graduating class and SLS for the privilege to have been asked to give your Hail and Farewell address today. Second, congratulations to all of you on reaching this milestone - and just as importantly, to your family and friends who allowed you to deal with law school's sometimes harsh reality with warmth and humour and support. Finally congratulations to us -the Faculty of Law you leave behind which has been enriched and bettered by your contributions these past few years. _ You arrived, of course, during a time of not insignificant turmoil at the Faculty.

Your first year in 200112002 also happened to coincide with my arrival to the Faculty.

So, in a sense- I feel like I am graduating too. The only difference is that you are about to embark on exciting new beginnings - new jobs, new homes, new cha\-

tie when Kent Roach couldn't even remember Ron Daniels LSAT score! When law students dive into trivia, it is. as you can imagine, head first. All this has helped to shape your law scbool experience and ensured that law school was more than just an unrelenting series of no-downside papers, practice exams and pass/fail credits.

•••

So, your imprint on the law school is clear, but what has been the law school's imprint on you? Hopefully, the last three years have proven provocative, engaging, illuminating, and rewarding, even if at times frustrating and unrelenting. But long after the echoes of classroom lectures and seminar discussions have faded, the question is how your character has been shaped by this institution. Have some of our aspirations rubbed off to become some of your aspirations.

The brief thought with which I would like to leave you relates to this question of aspirations. Since arriving here, you have been told to aspire to and to celebrate excellence - the excellence you demonstrated by gaining entry to an exclusive and elite academic institution; the excellence so often invoked as the credo to which this institution strives, whether in the research of its faculty, the standards of teaching, or the heights to which our esteemed alumni soar. Around here, it is clear that we love and respect winners.

I personally have nothing against excellence and nothing against coming out on top. Some of my best friends are winning people doing excellent things and I don't want to diminish their ambitions or accomplishments. But here, today, I want to suggest you m'ight want to consider a different goal - not the aspiration to excel as you leave to embark on your new careers and your new lives, but rather a more modest, old-fashioned and perhaps out-moded aspiration - the aspiration to be "good." It is something, in my view, we spend too little time addressing in this law school.

11

Valedictorian sums it all up with humour and grace

Hail and Farewell Address: Sossin's "good" advice lenges and r, of course, get to stay right here, doing pretty much the same things as I have been doing. And I get to look forward to doing even more of pretty much the same things here at the Faculty for another twenty-five years or so. You should know, that if it weren't for the career uncertainty, massive debt-load, relationship anxieties, long hours and existential crises of meaning and purpose you have to look forward to, I'd wish I were in your shoes to do it all over again.

Your imprint on this Faculty has been unmistakable. You played a key role in lively and important debates around tuition and access at U of T and have been deeply engaged in the Faculty's ongoing renewal iDitiatlves. Since your arrival, two new law journals have started at U of T - the Journal of Law & Equality and the Indigenous Law Joumal - with another one on the way specializing in transnational and international law. We've added a new international human rights legal clinic and scores of new exchange programs around the world which many of you have taken advantage of. You also continued and rejuvenated long-standing traditions of extracurricular life at the law school including the competitive moots, participation in Law Games, the Faculty Law Review, the Follies, the Law Ball, coffee houses, Ultra Vires, scores of clubs and organizations, a revived yearbook and even a new facultystudent trivia contest inaugurated this year - which as 1 recall ended in a suspenseful

CONVOCATION 2004

14 SEPTEMBER2004

What does it mean to aspire to be just "good"? It sounds suspiciously like a Bcurve, parochially Canadian, anti-entrepreneurial approach to life, and maybe it is.

But I think of goodness as far more than a retreat from excellence or as settling for second best. I'd like very briefly to suggest three ways in which to aspire to be good may be as good as it gets: The first way is the aspiration to be a "good citizen". Law school gives you the skills but not necessarily the motivation to take on your mantie of citizenship. I take this idea of the good citizen to include not only citizenship in your city, province and country but also citizenship in this University community and in other communities of interest, whether political, social, spiritual or idiosyncratic, which attract you. To be a good citizen is not about what you achieve, whether it is excellence or mediocrity in result - it is about the effort and conviction you put in. It is ultimately about no more and no less than showing up. But as one leams as one plods into middle age, great decisions are most often made by the people who show up.

The second way I see this aspiration is to be a "good colleague." Whether you're heading off to a law firm or government office, to a clinic or a family business, to law or a different career path altogether, remember that you are not in this by yourself or for yourself - knowing how to rely on others and support others will always hold the key to your professional success.

The third and most important aspiration in my view is simply to be a good personotberwise known by my grandmother as a "mensch". A mensch is not just someone who is good as opposed to bad, or good as opposed to immoral, unethical, lazy and stupid, although it is not a bad thing to be good in those respects. Rather, a mensch is a package deal of goodness - kind, compassionate, helpful and just simply the real deal. A mensch is someone more concerned with addressing the needs of the person who comes in second, or who never makes it to the starting line, than with provicling more and more incentives to win: To aspire to be a mensch is about feeling pride in the person you are and are becoming, and avoiding the things, whether it is work on a file, or dealings with others which undermine your sense of value and worth and the sense of value and worth of those around you. You have worked too hard to do too much not to do good things with the gifts and opportunities you have enjoyed. To aspire to be excellent but not also good should not be good enough for you, nor should it be good enough for us.

In closing, on this great, good day, I wish for you and yours the very best - and that you bring out the very best in all those whose lives you touch. So, congratulations, hail and because I am still not comfortable with farewells, let's just say we'll see you back here whenever you're in the neighbourhood!

SHAUN LAUBMAN ('04)

we would be spending the next three years surrounded by an accomplished, hardClassmates, faculty, members of the working and supportive group of peers. administration, friends, family and loved We leamed to starve ourselves in anticipaones: tion of the next cocktail reception or pizza I now have the awkward and embarluncheon. On a related note, we learned to rassing responsibility to inform you that get our pizza and run. We discovered that there will be no valedictorian speech this our class seemed to have an over-abunyear. I am truly sorry. After you bestowed dance of talented solitaire, crossword and upon me this honour and entrusted me to hearts players, all capable of honing their deliver some funny anecdotes, witty skills while at the same time paying attenremarks and inspirational quotes, all I have tion in class. We figured out to never read for you is this humble apology.

Headnotes and to always read Ultra Vires.

You may be wondering how I arrived at We realized that the Rowell Room was the this point after having almost three full place to hang out and make friends and months to prepw:e. Well, since we've been that Bora's Head was the meeting place taught to give a full explanation in the regardless of the occasion. We leamed to hope of at least a partial grade, allow me to never show up on time to one Contracts explain. To begin with, I thought it best to section and to never call attention to youremploy many of the skills and practices self in the other. We found out that while we've come to rely on during the past Grad House may not be much to look at, three years. So, I procrastinated. Turns out the friendships that were formed within are that while it is possible to complete an worth treasuring. And we leamed that extended paper by working for 72 straight while the study of law is important, our hours and relying entirely on a diet of Tim time here would be more memorable ifwe Horton's coffee, a valedictorian speech sang, jumped, ran, danced or did any numisn't quite so easy. You see - and this ber of other activities that allowed us to may come as a shock to you as it did to me show a little more of who we actually are - there is no summary out there for as individuals. preparing one of these. Believe me, I I thought I was well on my way to a looked ... for a week. I also enlisted the completed speech when I took a second help of Ted Tjaden and the crack staff of look at the composite photos and realized librarians to search online databases for that it would never work. Given some of information, but again to no avail. the haircuts we had on that first day of law Frustrated by the fact that no one had seen school, I knew there was no way many of fit to do my work for me, I attempted to

you would forgive me

form a study group so that I could shuffle

tos as tbe focus of my speech. It was time

some of the work off onto my mends. But everyone claimed to be too busy with Bar

to search Ear a new theme.

I next turned to some pithy quotes that I

Ads or paying off library fines so they could graduate.

Realizing that I was on my own, r began to put pen to paper. I thought that a valedictorian address should take a walk down memory lane. For inspiration, I was going to use our first year composite photos as a prop. That would take us back to the time when it all began. When we arrived at this Faculty from as close-by as the corner of Bay and Bloor and as far away as Hong Kong, the U.K. and various points in between. We came with vastly different experiences, interests and beliefs. And yet we shared the same anticipation and anxiety as we experienced our "firsts" and learned together. We quickly learned that

thought may sum up the last few years of our life here as Jaw students. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" came immediately to mind. We shared our highs with one another and leaned on each another during our lows. Obtaining a law degree is a sigrtificant accomplishment and we should take the time to reflect upon all that it took for us to achieve our goal.

While we will eventually forget many of the bumps we have each experienced in getting to this point, we should make sure to cherish those moments of which we are most proud and which brought us the greatest joy. The next quote I considered was "the more I learn, the more I learn how little I know". It too seemed appropri-

fOT

using your pho-

ate. Not only does it some up most of our sentiments about Admin Law, but it also underscores the importance of humility.

We are privileged to have the education and the opportunities that we do. May we never lose sight of the fact that whatever achievements we have, there are always greater challenges to take on and our process of learning is nowhere near complete. But perhaps it was Homer Simpson who articulated the law student experience best when he remarked to Marge, "And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I leam something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?" While Homer may have captured our experience, the problem with a quote is that it almost sums matters up too well and does not leave enough room for the details that are so important. So I moved on.

As a last resort, I thought it would be good to reference some of the qualities like integrity and respect that will be the foundation of our future success, both professionally and personally. But then I realized that this class does not need me, or anyone else, to advise you what qualities you should demonstrate in your lives. Early on, in one of our defining moments as a class, we were thrust into a national debate on the future of legal education in Canada. We made sure that OUI opposition

by voicing

to rising, tu.ition was neaTd

our concerns passionately,

yet

we quoted from Lord Denning or ruined perfectly good movies like Runaway Jury and A Civil Action by explaining how "that would never happen." The foundation you have provided us with has been integral to our past achievements. And the continuing faith you show in us provides the impetus for our dreams and ambitions.

And thank you to our professors. You are a major reason why this law school is regarded as one of the best in the country.

From my conversations with my peers, 1 know that you will he remembered tong after we have forgotten what we \earned \n your parti.cu\ax c\a.ss. 'lou tau~\ us cccce \han iust the \aw. Man"j of. ~ou S'Qe'n\ \he

time to learn about us as people and to pro-

with reason. Many or us stood f'ast by our vide us guidance as we set forth into a new conviction tbat legal education should be chapter of our lives. accessible to all. As a class, we respected And lin,ally, a personal thank you from one another and did not allow our differme. Thank you ro my family. I would not be here today were it not for all you have ences in opinion to cause divisions between us. We can all be proud of how done for me, nothing I can say adequately

we represented ourseI yes during that period and confident that those qualities will serve us well in the future, whatever our chosen career.

So I was left without ideas and without a speech. Nevertheless, I have come prepared with some remarks that, while obvious, are far too important to be left unsaid.

Thank you to all of our friends, family and loved ones. Thank you for understanding our mood swings and our prolonged absences each December and April. Thank you for slapping some sense into us when

conveys how grateful I will always be to you. And thank you to my classmates. I have learned a tremendous amount from you, both inside and outside of the classroom. You are an amazingly talented and inspirational group and I am proud to be able to say I am graduating amongst you. I look forward to hearing of your future successes.

Class of 2004, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my thoughts.

Congratulations and celebrate this moment, for it is well deserved.

WELCOME BACK! Rahool Agarwal, Kamil Ahmed, Kevin-Paul Deveau, Vanessa Emery, Dana Hnatiuk, Rebecca Katzin, Adam Lewin berg, Tariq Remtulla, Jeffrey Shafer, Shane Smyth and Ehsan Zargar.

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SUMMERS ABROAD

Taiwan

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BY DYlAN BUDD On January 31, 2004 Chen Rong-Li took a fishing boat out of Xiamen and, halfway to Taiwan, began swimming toward the shores of Kinmen, all in order to escape political persecution. Chen had spent eight years in a People's Republic of China (pRe) prison after being arrested in 1995 for attempting to participate in a democratic political party in provincial Jiangsu. Before he got to Taiwan, he was picked up by the Taiwanese coast guard. After processing, he was sent to the nan Chinglu detention facility for illegal Chinese immigrants, where he has spent the last six months awaiting a response to his request for asylum in the United States.

A higher profile Chinese dissident joined him there on June 3. Van Peng, a political activist since the June 4, .1989 Tiananmen Incident, has been arrested and detained repeatedly over the years in Shandong Province. In September of 2002, after mainland authorities had already held him in custody fnr over a year, he was sentenced to a year and a half with no credit for time served. Released this year, Yan found work managing a restaurant but faced constant police harassment, which included the restaurant's water and electricity being shut off. Fearing for his safety, Van, in t-shirt and jeans, swam on June 2 towards the shores of Kirunen as a Chinese military vessel gave chase, ttying to shoot him in the water until a Taiwan coast guard boat pulled him out of tile sea. He has shared the accommodation of Chen Rong-li since.

When I first read about the cases of Chen and Yan, 1 was optimistic. After all, this is Taiwan, not China.

While preparing for my summer internship at the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), 1 had read up on

The Philippines

BY IAN DISEND Let's get one thing straight about the Philippines: it's one "L," three "P"s.

Good.

With that out ofthe way, I can happily report about my summer. I took advantage of a firm-funded International Human Rights Program placement to join an organization known as the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) in Makati, Philippines. It's a city that manages to be both a suburb of Manila and the central business district at the same time.

CMFR's work - and it really is just "CMFR", as Filipinos like to create acronyms for everything, from "ready to wear" (RTW) to "State of the Nation Address" (SONA) ~ centred around government interference with the national media and its poor reporting.

Another alarming Philippine trend which CMFR focused on was the killing of journalists. Since the "People Power" uprising of 1986, which ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, about 40 journalists have been murdered in the country - an astonishing number for a democracy.

My task was to plan an event about freedom of information in the country.

In preparation, I met with a number of non-governmental and political rep- Ian peaces out with local teenagers during a visit to Baeolod, Philippines resentatives and, surprisingly, landed an official acknowledgement from the Philippine House of Representatives. The event itself, however, coincided with a typhoon hitting the region. The resultant flooding unfortunately took its toll on southeast Asia is readily accessible. My friend David (posted in Manila by the my guest list, plus two of the three panelists had to be replaced. Well, no one's ever Canadian Foreign Service) and I managed to hit Thailand, China, Vietnam and Laos used the word "predictable" in reference to Philippine life. before my time in Asia was done. So if you'd like to know the difference between Though the Philippines sit as a group of islands in the South China Sea, mainland "Sawasdee" and "Sabaidee," feel free to ask.

Taiwan's government end was impressed by its reported

commitment to human rights and the repeated sound bites of government official saying as much. How many times has President Chen Shui-bian been quoted pontificating about "the universal values Taiwan shares with the US, Japan and other international allies - namely, freedom, democracy, human rights and peace ..."?

When I arrived in Taiwan in the first week of June, however, the fact that Chen had already been sitting in detention for four months did raise some alarm bells. In terms of allowable length of administration detention, this already knocked down Taiwan's claims to human rights fame, by failing to provide his right to process without delay. International human rights standards

Uganda

demand such rights as a check against arbitrary or prolonged detention, which is a form of cruel and degrading punishment.

Worse still, it appears that Taiwan doesn't even have domestic legislation limiting administrative detention, which could potentially last indefinitely. This was the first, but not the last, blow to my optimism. I would soon learn that gaps in the law, such as Taiwan's lack of any refugee law, mean many cases progress slowly as files are passed from one government agency to another.

Without the domestic law providing pressure, decisions appear Dylan with Tianenmen student leader Wang Dan to be made on a case-bycase basis, with media pressure and personal conthe American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) were simply nections as the deciding factors.

In late June, I had my first chance to visit Yan as a ignored. The political division had no interest in talking member of a TAHR delegation. In a comfortable room in about dissident or asylum issues to a law student. The public affairs division seemed too busy to discuss how to the detention facility's administrative offices, we were build a stronger network between Taiwanese NGOs and greeted by a handful of officials, hot tea, and fruit plates.

AIT, and I can only assume (it's hard to be interpret A shaved-headed Yan wore neon green jogging pants, silence) that the Director Douglas Paal had absolutely no plastic blue sandals, and a short-sleeved undershirt. His desire to discuss Chen's or Yan's case with me. spirits were relatively high. He recounted his swim, Trying to remain optimistic, I hope that while these arrival, and his luck in escaping the Public Security offigovernment agencies are shunning the cameras, those cials that were shooting at him even as he swam. He was optimistic about his chances of reaching the States and a mysterious closed-door negotiations are taking place.

Somebody back there is fighting hard for both Chen quick resolution here in Taiwan. After all, this is Taiwan!

Rong-\i and Yan Pengo Somewhere under that proverbial The corruption, cruelty and arbitrariness ofPRC prisons table is the tireless fighter for human rights that Taiwan were behind him.

Actually seeing Van and talking with him made it always seems to be bragging about. Any day now, any day, Taiwan is going to show the pessimists wrong. The hard for me to content myself that the government was advocate behind the door - under the table, hidden handling it, so I decided to see if I could create a little from public scrutiny and misrepresented by all the govpressure on the other side. Through talking to American ernment officials - he's doing the best he can. When he officials both in Taiwan and the US, I hoped they could grabs a snack, he thinks about whether Chen and Yan get verify that the US government had received asylum to eat. When he takes a rare break from work, he reflects requests from both Chen and Van, and was dealing with on his freedom in the face of the incarceration of both them accordingly. I thought I could make more progress Chen and Yan only miles away. How could he not? What dealing with American officials than Taiwanese and was other possibility is there? I remain optimistic. confident that there must be a transparent process for such arrangements in the States. I was wrong.

Letters, faxes, and phone calls to various officials at

BY SABA ZARGHAMI This past summer I was fortunate to work at the Uganda Human Rights Commission in Kampala, Ugands, thanks to an International Human Rights Program Internship. I worked in the Legal and Tribunal Department of the Commission, which is a government body responsible for the handling of complaints relating to the violation of human rights in their jurisdiction, much like the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Prior to leaving, I wasn't entirely sure what my responsibilities would be in Uganda. I was quite hazy and traumatized as a result of April exams, and probably couldn't even remember if I had been briefed in detail about what I was supposed to do. So I arrived with little idea about what was to be expected of me.

So here I was, with (a limited amount 01) money to bum and a plane ticket to Africa, fresh out of exams and not even sure if law school was right for me. It was a volatile situation, to say the least, but r was ready for an adventure. As we landed in Nairobi, the last stop before arriving in Uganda, I felt increasingly unprepared. In fact, when everyone got off the plane in Nairobi - except for some Red Cross staff, two Ugandan families and me - I began to panic, just an itty bitty little bit. Luckily, there was nothing I could dn about my situation at that point, so I went on.

After arriving in Kampala, Irealized my fears were unfounded. Everyone Saba with at the Commission was very welcoming, as was the Ugandan family I was living with. I was assigned to work with victims of torture seeking compensation from the State. Although the work was draining and the 'conditions were less than optimal, I enjoyed what I did and met some truly amazing people. Being surrounded by the unrelenting will to survive which drove all of the clients I worked with, as well as learning about a world in which each and every thing I encountered was new, gave me a tremendous amount of spirit and understanding.

IfUMUfOZSU Thrkey is c:urnmtly in the process of absorbing and internalizing a variety of broad-based legal reforms. The Criminal Code is undergoing systematic revision; many of the most authoritarian and undemoctatic provisions in the current Constitution - itself a product of a military coup in 1980 - have been amended or scrapped; and to the bewilderment of nearly all observers, a number of formally binding but heretofore unimplemented pieces of legislation have come to be applied across the country for the first time in years. Much of the enthusiasm and speed with which these changes have been undertaken can be attributed to the Government's desire to satisfy the institutional requirements for EU accession. Nevertheless, their widespread acceptance and approval testifies to the strength of the post-Kemalist Anatolian bourgeoisie, which has mobilized its demographic weight and mercantile dynamism as part of a programmatic drive to recruit Western norms of liberal democracy as instruments with which to check the power of the generals and ensure the structural viability of civil society.

Spending a summer with the Human Rights Association of Turkey, the most respected and well-established organization of its kind on the domestic scene, provided me with a unique opportunity to document and study these developments. While Iwas principally concerned with gathering material relating to the socio-economic status of women in urban shanty-towns (gecekondular), I also assisted the Association in ita eftQrta to compile of human ris!tts violations and issue joint press statements with representatives of intemationa1 NGOs such as Human RigIdB Watch and Amnesty International.

her Ugandan family

_!abases

Although the experience is certainly not for everyone, I am proud to have done it and will remember this as an important part of my education. From the most difficult and tragic cases I worked on, to the feeling of bungee jumping over the Nile river, every second of it will stay with me for a long, long time.

.

OPINION & EDITORIAL

14

ULTRA VIRES

EDITORIAL

I GOT BEEF: UNSOLICITED ADVICE FROM WILLIAM B. STINCHCOMBE

The Dean is Back - And Not a Moment Too Soon

Locker shakeup over-the-top

sabbatical at Yale. And a good thing, too, Nothing against Professor Brian Langille, Fresh with the excitement of the coming who hy all accounts did a more than as there is much work still to be dooe. Old year and the prospect of beiog the best admirable job in a difficult position as issues continue to fester. What of the high cost of tuition and those who repeatedly SLS ever, our cherished Students' Law Acting Dean of the law school last year, charge that U of T law school is fast Society was, in mid-August, galvanized but things just weren't the same around into acting upon the results of a review of here without Ron Daniels at the helm. It becomiog a school exclusively for the rich? What of calls for more insight into the locker situation in Flavelle. Pursuant to wasn't anything you could really put your the inner-workings of the ominously titled an apparent "safety audit," a "survey" of finger 00. But something was amiss.

Five Year Plan? Are we still on schedule? the student body, 'and numerous "comsomething was askew, as they say. Maybe Are we achieving excellence? Most plaints," the previous locker situation in Dean Daniels charred those burgers with Flavelle was deemed to be "unsafe" and just the right quantity of pinache at the importantly, wbat of those decrepit wash"overcrowded." (Being of the type to autoannual Dean's barbecue. Maybe it was the rooms in Flavelle?

If the Dean's welcoming address to the way he complimented us and made us feel matically delete any e-mail from the special. Maybe we just plain missed him. first year students is any indication, we aggressively ubiquitous "Merrill Boden," will persevere, we will stay the course, Whatever it was, things were different. it is no surprise that I, Stinchcombe, have How to describe The Lost Yeor as it whatever obstacles may lay ahead. We will no knowledge of said "safety audit," "surwere? It was a strange year, to be sure, and strive for excellence. We will become the vey" or "complaints.") sometimes things got a little out of hand. -best. This can be inferred not only from Interesting components of the new Like when those crazed students found out the text of the speech itself, but also from locker scheme include: the secret code to the library door and the fact that the speech has remained pret• a "locker buddy" for first and upper ty much the same since it was last delivstayed in there for days on end, as if someyear students (standing in line at the book ered (although apparently the class of how simply being in the library longer store yesterday, I felt a surge of vindica2007 includes an accomplished cellist and than anyone else would magically tion upon hearing, from the mouth of a not an interpretive dancer). Ah well. It's a improve their grades. There was political fresh-faced first year regarding their new good speech. How does the old saying go? upheaval, too, as when students and profs locker, the following: "How hard is it to If it ain't broke, don't fix it. and miscellaneous rabble rousers gathered move the shelf from the top to the middle?

Welcome back, Dean Daniels, it's good in front of Flavelle to voice their anger How are we supposed to share these over soaring tuition fees. Even in glory to have you home. Let us hope that we can things? And who the hell is [insert locker there were seeds of dissention sewn, as get to know each other a bit better this buddy name] anyway?") time (or for most of the student bod)', for when our mighty athletes brought home • a pool table in the middle of one of the \he Law Games Cup, onl)' to be (some \he first time). Let us not pass in the halls locker rooms (with, of course, no balls, would sa)' visc\ous\'j) ma\igned with like ships in the night. Let us bope that, cues, nor space to shoot). charges of uber-competitiveness. when the time comes for us to walk that • the mailboxes are now located on the I suppose we will never know whether plank and plunge into the perilous, sharkfloor of the room beside the SLS office, Dean Daniels' strong hand would have infested sea of lawyering, our parting underneath the microwaves and alongside helped guide us more securely through thought will oot be to contemplate how we the fudges. such turbulent times. But no matter. The hardly knew yeo It is comforting that the SLS is conDean is back, energized from a one year

accessing their lockers. However, r do not share these safety concerns. 10 addition, any concerns of overcrowding ~ specifi-

cally, of the horrific first-year locker room - were immediately forgotten upon my completion of first year, along with the ideotity of my "locker buddy." Being an upper-year, I am happy to leave both the overcrowding and the locker buddy scheme to the first years in order to both have my own locker, and to not have to crouch down and reach through rotting bits of food to retrieve my mail.

Being the accommodating person that I am, I'm not suggesting a total scrap of the new locker scheme. The well-documented and well-known "safety audit" and "survey" clearly demonstrate the fear with which students have accessed their lockers in the past, and this cannot be ignored.

Stinchcombe's advice of the month is, therefore, the following: perhaps, along with other like-minded studeots, I could have the option of having one of the socalled "unsafe" lockers? I am more than willing to take the risk if possible. Thank you for your concern.

Sttnchcombe is: Sarah Horan, A/ex MacMillon, Genny Mclnnes, and Lee Waxberg.

Students deserve awards to be public If you stop by the Prizes and Awards page us were, once upon a time, recognized of the Faculty website, you will see listed publicly with the list of winners available the eighty-odd awards doled out each to all. Then, some six years ago, a student year to ill students, recognizing everyinitiative at Faculty Council succeeded, thing from the highest standing in first and the list was released no more. year, to the top mark in communications We are sure the students who brought law. It occurred to us over the summer about this change had good intentions. that unlike every school we've ever been But, we believe it's time to revisit the to, there is neither an awards ceremony, policy. The students who work hard nor even a publication of the winners of enough to merit these awards- deserve these prizes here at U of T Law. Sensing public acknowledgement.

Is that not a story, we asked around. What we indeed one, if not the fundamental purlearned surprised us. pose of a prize? Why should these According to Celia Genua at the awards be relegated solely to the resumes Records Office, the very brightest among of the recipients?

Ultra VIres is the independent student newspaper of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Editor-in-Chief Associate Editor

News Legal Issues Features

Diversions Production Editor Business Manager

John Norquay Jonathan Desbarats Andrew Pilliar, Keir Wilmut Lisa Cavion Adrian Liu Lisa Minnk Laura Bowman Lisa Cavion

Communications Centre, Falconer Hall, 84 Queen's Park Crescent Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C5, (416) 946-7684 u1tra.vireS@utoronto.ca

www.u1travires.ca

OPINION

The Relevance of the SLS

BY JAMES MCCLARY

cemed for the safety of its student body in

Contributors Ben Arkin, Mona Awad, Oren Bick, Hilary Book, Judith Borts, Dylan Budd, Sirnren Desai, Ian Disend, Julia Guaragna, Sven Hombach, Sarah Horan, Patrick Houssais, Shaun Laubman, Max Matas, Alex MacMillan, Genny McInnes, Umut Ozsu, Mike Pacholok, Matt Pierce, Larissa Ruderman, Lome Sossin, Lee Waxberg, Saba Zarghami Ultra Vires is an editorially autonomous newspaper. We are open to contributions which reflect diverse points of view, and our contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty of Law, the Students' Law Society (SLS), or the editorial board.

We welcome contributions from students. faculty, and other interested persons.

Ultra Vires reserves the right to edit snbmissions for length and content.

Advertising inquiries should be sent to the attention of the business manager at ultra.vires@utoronto.ca.

OPINION & EDITORIAL

.t4 SEPTEMBER 2004

study in 2003. We are looking forward to respooding to Bob Rae's review of postsecondary education in Ontario.

On the budget issue, the SLS seeks to convince the administration to bring the budget to Faculty Councilor in some way allow studeots to see the budget, even if only on a confidential basis and with generalized numbers. Because the Dean was on sabbatical last year, there were no significant developments on this froot. This year holds promise, however, since the Dean may be interested io hearing from

In the final Ultra Vires editorial of last year (March 23, 2004), the Students' Law Soceity (SLS) was excoriated as "no more relevant than it has ever been." UV editors stated that students "couldn't care less about the SLS." In support of this claim, UV referred to a number of facts, such as that "while there were over 25 nominees for valedictorian alone, of the 18 SLS-'elect', ten were actually acclaimed. ,.

I don't find it surprising that so many students were ioterested in the honour of being elected valedictorian and few were interested in running for the SLS. "Luckily, the past couple of Participating in the SLS is a year-long years confirm that students activity and each member must commit, on a weekly basis, many bours to his or at this school do feel a her responsibilities. I am glad that we get sense of community" enough students every year who are willing to take on such responsibility.

Nevertheless, whether enough people decide to run for SLS often depends on the efforts and personal appeals from the an SLS with no specific memory of many outgoiog executive to students in the of the issues that have, in past years, poisoned student-faculty relations. class below.

In addition to this activity, last year's But let us, for now, address matters SLS also secured a commitment from the other than the difference between seeking administration for regular meetings with honours and seeking positions of responthe SLS executive, three of which are cursibility. rently planned for this year.

UV also criticized the SLS in terms The above is a short list of the areas in that go to the heart of what the SLS does.

Referring to last year's town hall and the which SLS Student Caucus lobbies for ensuing list of student priorities created student interests. Student Caucus memby the SLS, UV identified a number of bers are also actively writing about various issues to stir discussion among stuissues of importance to students, includdents. Andrew Pilliar, for instance, initiating faculty budget accountability, theft and security, a new accessibility study, ed public discussion amoog students and the Back-End Debt Relief Program. about the faculty budget policy through Stating that "the year has passed and his article in Ultra Vires last year there has been no movement on any of ("Secrecy compromises student-faculty these fronts," UV categorically dismissed relationships," February 10, 2004).

SLS efforts in all these areas.

Nevertheless, it impoverishes the It took nearly a year for last year's SLS accomplishments of the SLS to only disPresident, Robin Rix, to convince the fac- . cuss policy issues addressed by Student ulty administration to commit to a safety Caucus. The UV editorial rightly praises audit by campus police services. Thanks the members of SLS Student Affairs for to his efforts, an audit was dooe at the end their dedication in creating a sense of of last year and the faculty administration social community at this school. But it appears committed to implementing the must be pointed out that Student Affairs is audit's recommendations. This year, the more than a "social coordinator."

SLS will seek to ensure that studeots benThe role of Student Affairs is to be the efit further from the audit's results. backbooe of student involvement at this The studeots on the Financial Aid comschool, involvement that encompasses mittee of Faculty Council worked on over twenty-five clubs and organizations, back-end debt relief throughout the year. a vast number of student-organized activThe student members of that committee ities (such as Law Games and Law certainly advocated for student interests Follies) and the participatioo of oearly in the course of a review, which will be every law student on campus. brought to Faculty Council early this This means that what Student Affairs year. does is more than mere social coordinaIt is neither accurate nor fair to 'claim tion; through its funding of student clubs that there was no movement on either the and activities and by running events, safety audit or back-end deht relief.

Student Affairs creates a sense of comThis leaves, of course, faculty budget munity among students that is the heart of accountability and an accessibility study. this faculty. Without this sense of comThe SLS can lobby as much as possible, munity, I doubt students would care at all but action on both fronts is, ultimately, about the direction of the school and its out of our hands. An accessibility study policies. Why care about the institution would be expensive, and require an out- when you don't care about the people side expertise. The SLS can't afford such there with you? a study. We cab, however, lobby for it. We Luckily, the past couple of years conhave and we will continue to do so. We firm that students at this school do feel a will respond to such studies if initiated by sense of community: they feel compelled to organize rallies in support of tuition other parties, as we did with the Provost's

LEITER TO THE EDITOR

Duggan deserves praise Dear Editors, As the new Associate Dean for the JD program, I am very grateful for the warm welcome which students. staff and faculty have given me. I also want to express my thanks to Professor Duggan for his significant and positive accomplishments during his two-year term as Associate Dean. His tenure in this position was characterized by energy, integrity and a commitment to equity and fairness, Whether recruiting talented adjunct professors and distinguished visitors, treating students in academic difficulty with compassion and professionalism, taking the lead on new curricular initiatives such as the redesigned compulsory moot program, serving with distinction on innumerable committees, or

cuts (at which SLS members speak); t1iey write in Ultra Vires; they participate in co-curricular activities; they discuss political issues of this school and the broader community. This is a small indication of the success of the SLS in getting students to think about areas of common concern.

But so what? I think the SLS is relevant. If you agree with me, then I hope you'llt~ink about running in future elec-

responding to student concerns, Tony Duggan's contrihutions to the Faculty as Associate Dean should be celebrated.

I am delighted to be the new Associate Dean and look forward to worldng with all memhers of the law school community to build on our strengths and further enhance the JD experience. As we move forward, though, we should recognize' those who have played a key role in the law school's success and take the opportunity to let them know how much their efforts are valued.

LomeSossin Associate Dean

tions, If you don't, and this bothers you, then it is up to you to make it relevant. It is up to you to take the risk of running in an election. If you doo't, then it must be the case that you are happy with the other candidates. Create change. Nobody else is going to do it for you.

James McClary is the President of the Students 'Law Society for 2004-05.

The Students' Law Society

seeks individuals interested in creating a YEARBOOK for the 2004-2005 year.

Editors!

Writers!

Photographers!

Jacks-of-all-trades!

Please contact the SLS at sls.law@utoronto.ca

JEWISH LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION ("JLSA") Faculty of Law • University of Toronto

**OUR FIRST DELICIOUS LUNCH OF THE YEAR** Please join us for a casual and relaxing kosher lunch on Wednesday. Sgptember 15. 2004 from 12:0Qpm to 2:00pm at the new Wolfond Centre for Jewish Campus Life!

Pita, falafel, hummous, tahina, babaganoush and vegetarian pizza will be served. "Healthier" options will also be available!

BRING YOUR FRIENDS & WE'LL SEE YOU ON WEDNES-

DAY! If you have any questions, please contact:

joel.wardinger@utoronto.ea

or micbael.zackheim@utoronto.ca

LEGAL ISSUES

16

ULTRAVIRES

To refresh relatively short political memories: the Final Report of the Romanow Just in time for the two year anniversary of Commission recommended a series of his ground breaking report Building on transformational changes to the health care Values: The Future of Health Care in system in Canada. It included establishing a Canada, Roy Romanow will give a lecture National Health Council to monitor the here at the Faculty of Law on the "Past, implementation of the Romanow reforms; Present and Future of Medicare." While the creation of clearer fund-transfer hosting Mr. Romanow would be an honour accountability relationships between at any time, his presence at the Faculty this Ottawa and the provinces; the creation of fall could not, I think, have come at a more five targeted funds to facilitate health renewal in areas such as catastrophic drug opportune moment.

With the minority government of Canada coverage and Aboriginal and rural health; as set to take its first wobbly steps towards well as an overall call for the federal govgovernance in a few weeks, and the ernment to increase funding to the provinces Chaoulli case on the constitutionality ofpriby several billion dollars. vate health care on the Supreme Court dockThe aftermath of the Romanow Report is et for this year, it seems apt that Mr. a particularly interesting period in recent Romanow should take the time to remind us Canadian history. The release of the Report that the thorny issue of health care reform was followed very quickly by the 2003 First remainsfirrnly lodged in the collective side Minister's agreement on health care - an of Canadian politics. Short of constitutional agreement that appeared to implement a reform, vel)' few issues have provided such substantial proportion of the Report's reca persistent wedge between federal and ommendations. Because the Accord came provincial governments. Even now, two so quickly on the heels of the Report, it years after the Romanow Report seemed to seemed for a moment that the federal and signal a consensus on how to reform one- provincial government might finally be tier, universal health care in Canada, the mustering the momentum for real change in provinces and federal governments continue Medicare. For a moment, it appeared that their ceremonial chest-beating. As a result, . the decade of federal provincial posturing in the intervening years since Romanow, that itself galvanized the political need for very few of his concrete recommendations the Romanow Report, was finally at an end. have been reborn as policy, despite the uhiqIn actuality however, the Accord reflectuitous rhetoric of "renewal and reform" sured a rather shallow agreement among the rounding subsequent Ministerial negotia- Prime Minister and the Premiers, consisting tions on fue future of Medicare. mostly of "band-aid" federal funding trans-

i!"

fers to the provinces. The Accord provided for an immediate cash infusion of2. J billion dollars, followed by a five year 16 billion dollar investment in a Health Reform fund, and a two billion dollar top-up the following year. While the impact of these immediate, large-scale financial infusions should not be underestimated, Romanow's governance recommendations were largely abandoned on the negotiating table. The National Health Council was among the only governance reforms taken up by the Accord, although subsequent opposition from Alberta would produce a narrow mandate for the Council and delay its establishment until November 2003 - without the participation of Alberta and Quebec.

So, in the aftermath of the Romanow Report, the' regulatory landscape of Canadian Medicare is much the same as it was before. The wheels of policy have come to a somewhat unceremonious halt. While this would hardly be.a problem if Medicare was not badly in need of reform, the unfortunate truth is that without radical change in the governance of the system, large bandaid transfers of federal funding will not be sufficient to sustain universal health care.

Both the Romanow Report, and the Kirby Report which preceded it, proposed such sweeping transformative changes. While the Kirby Report is more open to private sector involvement than is the Romanow Report, both offer a vision for the future that is more concerned with governance reforms and the assurance of an efficient and accountable

BY PATRICK HOUSSAIS

health care system, than with simple infusions of federal cash. Although no one can doubt that the status quo of health care is sadly lacking in funds, it is even more so lacking in vision.

It is against this lack of a strong and unified vision of health care that cases like the upcoming Chaoulli and Zeliotis v. Quebec may take on the task of defining the future of Medicare. Chaoulli, which challenges the constitutionality of the current prohibition of parallel private health care, will in many ways decide for the federal and provincial governments whether Mr. Romanow's or Mr. Kirhy's vision will dominate Canadian Medicare in the future. Where the federal and provincial governments have lost PLEASE SEE "NO DEAL" PAGE 17

•

"As a student, I prefer when my opinions are ignored."

o

o

o

o

o

o Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

17

Islamophobia, Shari I a law and the Ontario Arbitration Act

Romanow to visit Faculty as Report gathers dust

BY MONA AWAD

LEGAL ISSUES

14 SEPTEMBER 2004

No you don't. In fact law students told us they want to contribute. So what do we do differently? We put your knowledge to work, often for clients involved in mergers and acquisitions, securities, intellectual property, information technology, bankruptcy, real estate, banking, health law, litigation and more. Interested? Visit www.casselsbrock.com or contact Deborah Glatter, Director of Student Programs, at 416 860 6606 or dglatter@casselsbrock.com

cb

Already prior to 9/11, islamophobia was never far from the front pages of the mainstream press, if not in the headlines.

Since then, things have gone from bad to worse, with news coverage about Islam rife with exaggerations and inaccuracies.

This summer's controversy over the use of Sharia law under Ontario's Arbitration Act was no exception.

Ontario has for some time now allowed various religious groups to use religious law to arbitrate disputes ranging from divorce and other family matters to minor business dealings. Segments of the Catholic, Jewish and Isrnaili communities have all availed themselves of this opportunity, and without so much as a murmur from the press. But recent moves by the Ontario Government to allow the heretofore little known Islamic Institute of Civil Justice to apply Shari'a, Islam's religious law, under the Arbitration Act garnered headlines in the local, national and even international press. "Islamic courts get foothold in Canada" screamed the April 28 headline of the Washington Post. Islamophobia had struck again.

To be sure, opponents of the project raised important objections. A number of Muslim women's groups voiced strong opposition on the grounds tbat Sharia law was inherently biased against women and that some Muslim women, not least recently 'an-ived immigrants who do not speak English or French, might be coerced by their husbands into getting their disputes resolved before a Shari'a tribunal that would always favour the man. These were certainly valid concerns. But press coverage went much further. Discussion of the concerns raised by women's groups seemed almost incidental to a discussion of Shari'a's responsibility for the deaths of thousands of women worldwide every year, of an unknown number of men and women found "guilty" of homosexuality and related crimes, and that punishments could include the amputation of a hand or limb. With each new article and hostile editorial, the hysteria seemed to get worse and worse. A reality check was certainly in order and a few did appear, but to no avail. The debate continued to smack of ignorance and even prejudice.

As a few writers attempted to point out, it is not so much Shari'a law that is responsible for the deaths of thousands of women and other atrocities, as its interpretation and application by the ruling elites in certain parts of the world.

Shari'a is not a fixed body of laws. It

derives in part from the Koran and in part from other religious scriptures and has interpretations and applications too numerous to count. As the Institute for Civil Justice pointed out again and again, but apparently in vain, the version of Shari 'a law applied by its arbitrators would comply with Canadian law, and, where a conflict arises, Canadian law would take precedence.

Moreover, to assuage fears of women being coerced into resolving their disputes before a

"Islamic courts get foothold in Canada" screamed the headline of the Washington Post. Islamophobia had struck again.

Shari'a tribunal, the Institute promised that the process would be open and transparent, and that observers were more than wefcome. . .

But debate in the press continued along the same unfortunate track, providing very little actual discussion of the Institute's proposals. Moreover, no one seemed to be asking the most obvious question

LAWVERS

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin Barristers and Solicitors

fare under

form but a SIiIatl pIrt ~. law. The vll$t majQri,fy ~y'ij,

Most people think of environmental lawyers as environmentalists fighting the good fight. Think Erin Brockcvich.

Those who feel disillusioned about Bay Street may believe there is a second category of "bad fight" environmental lawyers. equipped with black suit, Blackberry, and, depending on their career status, probably a black BMW as well. Think the people across the table from Erin Brockovicb. Movie star aspirations aside. I was lucky to discover this snmmer that (he practice of environmental law is not the fundamental battle of good vs, evil it is sometimes portrayed as, but a vibrant and multi-faceted body of law with widespread policy implica-

issuesnevermakeitto~lIIotM: environmental law is ~y the ~ agement of risk, assuriIg t!Ilif enviI'lIlmental ma1te(S never go to court in the first place. This is an CXl:iting part elf practice itSelf. because environmental law is-such a broad field. I had a chance to work on everything from minor research for settlement negotiations to extended reports ahont governmental enforcement policies in different juris-

tions, I lIpeot three months working at a twelve-lawyer en\'itoDlllcntal I&w bontique inToronto that represents ovettoJle ftom multimillion doIIlR foo4 !!lll1lI1fBc-

2004 Cassels Brock I> BlackwelillP.

Cassels Brock and the CB logo are trade-marks of Cassels Brock I> BlackwellllP.

t'uels,

1Ie_ n..... .we ~

,1

«iii pn:;~ ~ • ~

menr, to individual citi=ls JUSt trying to Enviromnent, Which m CIJ!D-' make tbeir voice heard under the pletely different set of enYirotiDlelllal Environmental Bill of Rights. The beauty policies. When land is sold, the ti8billabout working in an environmental bou- ty issues must be addressed ~v,il tique is that it is not a single-purpose government as well as third partjes. partisan organization. Environmentalist One is based on statutory law, one groups such as the Sierra Legal Defence based on common law. Remediatloa m Fund, the Canadian Environmental Law tum tnggers an entirely new set sf reg,.

Association, and numerous others are ulation important to provide citizens with a Four hUtlljred ~ J$r the bO!IJl; l!II chanco to challenge big money and gov- such a simple sUbject If ~ tile ernment, and are cunningly savvy at llHlI' is over, aQd Y!l!l\'I!_.is usmg the media to therr advan.

They ioJl. tIIilI 8$i.11o ~ lIil ~ It are a great place to IeuD how to be $ spiIJ in tlIe ~1f ~ effective environmentalist.

However, about the Jegat ~ theyfOCllSaImostexclustvelyontbelitime a _ ~.",,~, gation of enviromnental conflicts, whicb milk at 1be GroundS i1f~

No deal.on Medicare in sight CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 momentum, the judiciary will pick up the pace. Whether their decision on the future of Medicare will sit palatably with the Canadian public however) is another matter entirely.

For his part, Roy Romanow will be here to discuss his views on the future of this

countrY's most cherished social program. I hope that as many of us as can attend will be there to hear what he has to say.

Roy Romanow:S talk, sponsored by the Faculty of Law and the Deptartment of Health Policy, Management and Evaluatoin, will take place on Thursday, September 30 from 12:10 to 2:00 pm in the Bennett Lecture Hall.

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of all: how do women

Catholic and Orthodox Jewish law as applied under the Arbitration Act? Coverage was rife with the culturally biased assumption that women would naturally fare mucb hetter under these forms of religious law than under Shari'a. After all, religious Catholics and Jews don't amputate limbs.

Also lost in the hysteria was the question of how gay and lesbian issues would be treated before a religious tribunal.

Could a religious tribunal of any kind be trusted to deal properly with these issues?

Fortunately, just as the dehate was heading steadfastly downhill, the McGuinty Government made a move, and got it right! Refusing to give in to the hysteria, the Government appointed former Cabinet Minister Marian Boyd to review the use of all forms of religious law tUlder tbe Arbitration Act. That effectively ended tbe controversy. Hopefully, Boyd's report, due at the end of September, will re-focus the debate on the real issue: should religious law be used at all under the Arbitration Act given the not so subtle bias of some bodies of religious Jaw against certain vulnerable groups, particularly women and gays and lesbians? And if so, how?

BY SVEN HOMBACK

Yellowknife

Toronto

Montreal

Quebec

New York

London

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Professional

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ULTRAVIRES

DIVERSIONS

14 SEPTEMBER 2004

19

FASHIONABLY YOURS

I

BY JUDITH BDRTS & MIKE PACHDLOK PBSC PROGRAM COORDINATORS A couple of weeks ago when we were wandering among the entering class at the BBQ before school started, we were stopped by numerous students asking about Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC).

One student said that one of the common first three questions that the entening students were asking each other was whether tbey were doing a PBSC placement. We, of course, were glad to hear that so many students were excited about pro bono work.

Altbough many of you have beard of PBSC and perhaps participated in a placement, there are still some of you that bave not. So over the next scbool year, we will be writing a column in each issue of Ultra Vires that will showcase both our students volunteening with public interest organizations, as well the organizations themselves and the legal issues they face. But in this first column, we will teU you a little about the uauoual pTO bono movement that

PBSC has spawned.

When PBSC was established at UT law in 1996, pro bono work was going on across the country, but notbing was formalized. PBSC burst on to the scene with a mission that was simple. We want engage law students in pro bono work early in their education so that each new generation of lawyers is already schooled in the pro bono ethic when they enter the profession. Our format too is simple: we match law students with public interest and conununity organizations that are ineligible for legal aid, but often need legal assistance. But our goal is nothing sort of revolutionary. We wish to transform the legal profession into one where all members, not just law students, hold a pro bono ethic.

From the 50 brave souls and a handful of organizations that were involved in the first year of PBSC at U of T, the program has grown exponentially. Today, tbere are PBSC cbapters in 17 (out of 19) law scbools across the country. This year we welcome two Dew chapters, one at University of Victoria and the other at the Civil Law Section at the University of Ottawa. Both of these cbapters were started by students who saw the need for students at their schools to have the opportunity to be involved in pro bono work.

Over the past eight years, nearly 6000 students have been involved in P.BSC. The work that students have done includes conducting legal research, engaging in

this far without the support of the Law legal drafting, providing legal education, Foundation of Ontario and our newest and advocating on behalf of communities partner McCarthy Tetrault. The Law in need. Students have bad tbe opportunity Foundation of Ontario amongst other to see their work presented in cases argued at different levels of court, as well as things completely funds the PBSC prodebated over for proposed legislation. The ' gram in Ontario, while McCarthy Tetrault is providing funding but also providing impact of this work by students has been nntbing short of phenomenal. We often get lawyers who wish to act as lawyer supervisors for projects on a pro bono basis. letters from organizations to tbe PBSC This year we are trying to expand in office telling us how they could not connew directions, including a Mentorship tinue to do the work that tbey do without Program in which we match upper year PBSC students. students with first year students at all the As well as working with organizations, organizations. This way first year stustudents in Ontario and soon right across dents have a chance to meet more upper the country, have been working in courts year students as well as draw upon addiassisting with the Family Law Project tional resources to help on the project.

(FLP). The FLP trains upper year students Other projects that are currently in the and places them in courthouses to assist works include a Wills & Estates Law unrepresented litigants under the supervision of duty counsel. This program was Project in connection with Osgoode Hall as well as a Business Law Project in coninitiated by students who heard Justice nection with Volunteer Legal Services.

Harvey Brownstone talk about the number You can also get involved with PBSC in of unrepresented litigants in courts today.

Tbe program has been so successful that it other ways including the new Executive has been expanded to the summer and Committee, where you can help increase the publicity of PBSC ot plan social funded entirely by Legal Aid Ontario.

The untold story of pro bono in this events. PBSC also gives you the opportucountry is that the current movement has nity to tum your interest in public interest legal work intn a summer job witb the been created by tbe passion and inspiration Donner Fellowship Program and of students. Pro Bono Law Ontario, whicb Callwood Fellowship program, which is a pro bono organization of practicing you will hear about more closer tn lawyers, started as an initiative of PBSe. The positive climate for pro bono work is December. If you have an interest in anydirectly attributable to students working in thing that PBSC does, email us at probono.students@utoronto.ca or phone their placements across the country. us at (416) 946-0143.

Of course, PBSC could not have come

Drying out my New York Wet Dream Paris Hilton is from smart (think wall-towall beige).

Nonetbeless, I managed to have an amazing time, and to scope out the fashion scene in NY. New York is truly a city where anything goes, so monolitbic trends are rare. Some looks were more prominent in certain neighbourboods.

For example, there was a lot of shabby-chic

BY JULIA GUARAGNA When I was applying to work as a summer associate in New York last fall, I bad a fantastic vision of myself walking down Madison Avenue wearing a fabulous, yet professional, outfit. Considering what the New York firms pay their summer associates, I figured I could finally quencb my thirst for Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci.

My fantasy usually ended witb my arrival at tbe revolving doors of the big, glamorous building that would bouse my firm, I replayed this fantasy countless times in my mind, each time with a new outfit down the street, to the revolving door, but never actually inside the building. In other words, in my New York wet dream.I never actually did any work in my fabulous work wardrobe.

When I actually ended up at a firm in New York this summer, I realized that I bad been completely and utterly delusional, probably due to overconsumption of Sex and the City. I quickly realized that bigh tuition + the insane cost of living in NY = no Louis Vuitton. Plus, although the life of a summer associate is pretty great, the firms do expect you to actually enter the building and sit in your office, at a minimum. To add insult to injury, it turns out my firm wasn't anywhere near Madison Avenue! And the building was big, but about as far from glamorous as

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necessity. I quickly learned to eschew my beloved Stilettos (whicb are technically going out of style, but that's another story) unless I was taking a cab. In general, I found the New York fashion aesthetic to be mucb more casual than expected.

Following the trends from tbe Spring rimways, NY women were sporting a lot of flowered, ruffled, feminine clotbes, especially cotton A-line skirts. Other popular looks included mini skirts, tbe poncbo, headscarves worn as belts, all things Juicy Couture, and brooches. Also popular were Birkenstock-type sandals with silver or gold metallic thong straps, and flat, beaded Chinese slippers that could be picked up in Chinatown for $3.

Generally the sbopping was amazing, but expensive. I thougbt I was really on to something when 1 found a few cbeap and trendy stores in Sobo, until I realized I was shopping at the New York equivalent of Sirens. Fake Lnuis Vuitton purses were ubiquitous (note to counterfeiters: the thread on real Louis Vuittons is not neon yellowl).

Not surprisingly, purchasing

counterfeit luxury goods is an exercise in sketcbiness.

"Salespeople" approach women on Canal Street and whisper "Louis Vuitton?"

They then lead you down a long alley or random staircase to "apartments" - really glorified storage lockers - containing hundreds of counterfeit purses. Some stores simply have false walls concealing hackrooms tbat are stocked with the fake stuff and tbe soccer mom consumers. While J did not partake in the pbony purses, Chinatown had plenty of other stuff to offer. Headscarves, watches, slippers, costume jewelry and perfume are cheap, and baggling is the norm. There is no more satisfying a feeling than paying $4 rather than the posted $5 on a pair of slippers for your Nonna (grandmother).

Although tbis summer in New York wasn't quite the fasbion fantasy I anticipated, it was a highly satisfying fashion experience.

The Chanel suits, I assure you, will come in good time, but for now, there's something to be said for $5 streetfair earrings and $20 Brooklyn sboes.

Photographing Misery: Apathy or Activism? pavement, are included in a beautiful, and expensive, coffee table book put out by Bad deeds often make good pictures. Maybe Pbaidon, a respected art publisher. you will think it cold and callous - to be At tbe Stepben Bulger gallery's recent shooting photos while others are being "Crimescene" group exhibition, the horriassaulted, dying from lack of access to bealth ble is made beautiful - but often at the care or watching their world explode. Maybe cost of being unrecognizable. For instance, you will feel that wben the law is lacking, or Robin Collyer digitally strips all the text failing, looking is too mucb of a luxury; from an image of convenience store, transdoing something (perhaps with statutes?) is forming it from a specific place with a spethe first moral imperative. cific history and specific actors into a forBut pbotography, at its best, shares with mal arrangement of colour and space law a kinship as performative media in (more attractive but no less impersonal which something is done to the world within than the formality of the legal system). a medium that is meant to represent the Similarly, P. Elaine Sharp blurs out dark, world. Both translate events into representafoliage-crowded scenes from surveillance tion - the one visual, the other verbal ~ id cameras; the atmosphere is intensely foreorder to change the course of events. boding, but entirely non-specific. We do It is evidence of nature's efficiency that not know where we are, or what has hapour crimes are simultaneously the raw mate- pened - or will happen - on the site. rial for aesthetic contemplation as well as But it is too simplistic to suggest that art moral censure. Is it out of respect for the vic- can only remove crime from its context or tims .that judges and lawyers refuse the that the function of art in this context is to opportunity to make events both borrid and distance us from tbe very visceral emotions lovely at once, and so often ignore the aes- thartruly borrible crimes evoke. thetic potential of their own judgements and Photojournalists, for instance, fight a rearsubmissions? Is it out of fear for our precious guard action against time, and indifference, 'objectivity' (or, more precisely, its authori- and the growing cynicism with which their ty) tbat what we read and write in law is medium is emptied of its message. They are often no more charming than a mug shot? usually animated by a strong conviction that Perhaps we lawyers are too wary of ele- pbotography is anything but callous, that vating crime into art; we are too conscious of those violations of persons that lawyers the eerie beauty that can emerge when a describe as violations of criminal or intemacrime is examined from a sufficient distance, tionallaw must be seen, first, to in order to whether that distance is through a com- be addressed That "the events I have recordpelling judgment or a camera lens. ed sbould not be forgotten and sbould not be Certainly, it is disconcerting to watcb repeated" is the slogan of James Natchwey, a transgressions against buman dignity trans- famous, and famously dedicated, internamute, with time, into sanitized aesthetic tional photojournalist. The UNHCR and experiences. The famous Weegee photos of other NGOs, like Amnesty Intemational, New York City murders have grown a patina seem to agree, as many of them work with of cool film noir atmospbere that smoothes photograpbers to provide witness to, inter right over the grit, danger and grief they alia, Afghani refugees and to campaign to originally represented in the tabloids of the stop violence against women.

1940's. Now his oeuvre, complete with gunSometimes, in the face of buman cruelty, shot victims, facedown on the rain-slick watching is doing something, the first thing.

BY LISA CAVION

21

DIVERSIONS

14'SEPTEMBER 2004

A brief guide to T.O. for the O.T. (0 ut-of-Towner)

BY MATT PIERCE Still adjusting to life in a city with more than one McDonald's? Wondering why you left the lovely air of the coast in favour of smog? Asking yourself wbat the deal is witb metrosexuals? If you answ.ered yes to any of. these questions, you're having tbe same questions I did when I came to tbe T-dot two years ago.

As a proud native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (read: Halifax), I was a little curious as to the lowdown on what to do in the Big Smoke. This article probably won't answer those questions. What it will do is answer what J think is cool to do, so take it for what it's worth.

If you're a law student and have a pulse (wbich can sometimes be mutually exclusive), you probably already know

11 J

tbat pub life begins and ends witb tbe Duke of York. Law students hit up the Duke for frequent SLS pub nigbts, tbe entire NHL playoffs, and of course tbe usual Tuesday morning pint. In tougb competition with the Duke is its crossthe-street rival, the Bedford Academy, which is not to be confused with the Bedford Ballroom, neitber of whicb are actually on Bedford Rd. There is also tbe Madison, wbich, more sensibly than eitber of tbe Bedfords, is on Madison Ave. If you like spending two bours finding your friends, drinking seven-dollar beers, and ogling 18-year-old girls (or boys), then tbis is tbe place for you.

But seriously, it's a fun night. As far as lounges go, College St. is the place to be.

Tbe Midtown (no sign, blue and white awning, College and Euclid) is a solid

yourself in the exhibits of Toronto's choice for some pool and relaxed drinks; finest museums, from the Royal other good spots include Sballow Ontario Museum Gust north of the law Groove, Lava Lounge and Tbe Left scbool) to the Art Gallery of Ontarin to Bank. my personal fave, the Bata Sboe Of course, time at the bar should only Museum. And if that's not enough, you account fnr 90 per cent of your Toronto experience; you should alsn get out and can take a nice stroll along the beautiful sandy beaches while the ocean air tosses explore some of the many neighbouraround your wind-swept curls (ob wait, hoods that this shining beacon of diverI'm thinking about home again ... my sity has to nffer. Some of the more interbad). esting excursions include marching Whether you're here to begin a blosdown Spadina Ave. to the hustle and soming career on Bay Street, or just here bustle of Cbiuatown and Kensington Market; taking a, drive alnng the for the tbrill of spending exorbitant Danforth to experience the cuisine and amounts of money on a legal education, take advantage of Toronto's dynamism, culture of Greeks (among others); enjoying the c1asb nf styles on Queen St., . whether you're someone who likes to see the sights during the day or see douwhere punk meets preppy meets Gotb meets average Joe (no, not the guy on ble during the nigbt. .. or both. that epic reality series); and immersing

~

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To belp sort things out, clockwise from the upper left: Tbe Bedford Academy, tbe Duke of York; the Madison, and the Bedford Ballroom.

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DIVERSIONS

22

ULTRAVIRES

"Lets hang ourselves immediately!" Legal Classics of Western Literature covers that the crazed demagogue has a sequel is reportedly in the works. penchant for murderous militia raids and The Bible heads on sticks.

Pretty much the same, only less concise.

Marlow also uncovers Kurtz's writings. , which exhort readers to "exterminate all The Great Gatsby the brutes." Independent human rights James Gatz, a farm boy from North observers travel to the region and confirm Dakota, sets his sights on a life of prestige repons of systemic brutality. "The horror, and fortune, and decides to enroll in law the horror," one aid worker gasped upon school. James is a quick study, and soon her return. Despite calls for intervention enough young "Jay Gatsby" is an up-andby NGOs and concerned citizens around coming associate in a large Manhattan law the world, the UN refuses to take action, though international lawyers and UN dele- firm. Once established, he is reunited with gates vigorously debate whether the situa- Daisy, his old teenage flame. Daisy, her tion in Kurtz's territory constitutes genoears perking up at the jingle-jangle of noucide, incitement to genocide, crimes veau-gel!, marries Jay but they squabble against humanity, or simply bad etiquette. almost immediately over his long hours The US proposes implementing economic and general familial negligence. He buys a sanctions against the Kurtz regime, but the lavish vacation property in West Egg, draft resolution is opposed by certain Long Island, but never visits it, as he canmembers of the Security Council. A sec- not take the time off work. Daisy, exasperond, modified, resolution suggests the ated at her husband's slavish devotion to implementation of "economic measures" his job, retreats to Villa Gatsby and disagainst Kurtz, but this draft is similarly covers the joys of pool boys. Jay makes rejected. Finally, through much diplomatic senior partner and dies alone. negotiation, the UN passes a resolution declaring that Kurtz's actions are "super Hey kids! Looking for more bookish not-nice," and he may be subject to a good times? Then come out to the first Heart of Darkness "stern talking-to" by the international meeting of the Low & Literature Club on Charlie Marlow, a UN human rights community if he does not rein in his miliSeptember 21 at 12:00 pm - room to be monitor, travels up the Congo River in tias. In response, Kurtz obliterates neighannounced. search of the mysterious "Kurtz", a megabouring Zambia. Finally, Kurtz slips in the We're all abour mocking great works of lomaniac reputed to have established his shower and dies, bringing his 25-year fiction. And what could be more fun than. own blood-soaked dominion deep within reign of terror to an end. "Never again," that? For more information, contact the jungle. Locating Kurtz, Marlow dis- UN representatives assure the world. A larissa.rudermanecutoronto.ca,

and lightning during cross-examination.

Macduff and company, frustrated by what they perceive as stall tactics by the Macbeth After a house party gone terribly awry, accused's counsel, attempt to sabotage the proceedings by disguising themselves as King Duncan of Scorland wakes up dead, and all fingers point to Macbeth, thane of trees and sneaking into the courtroom to Cawdor, Macbeth, already suffering a assassinate Macbeth. The band of plucky vigilantes fools no one, and the presiding wicked hangover, is arrested and detained judge holds them in contempt of court for without bail. At trial, Macbeth pleads not scattering foliage all over his new carpet criminally responsible by virtue of mental In a surprising ruling, the judge accepts disorder, and also Battered Husband Syndrome. Much time and energy is spent Macbeth's plea of NCR, but Lady M not actually an accused in the proceedings debating whether the Rules of Civil Procedure preclude the submission of - is summarily executed. The decision is widely applauded in both legal and literary facta written entireJy in iambic pentameter.

The witches are called as witnesses for the circles. defence, but disappear in a haze of smoke Waiting for Godot Vladi mir and Estragon bring a S. I [(b) Charter motion, claiming that there has been an inordinate delay in Godar's arrival. The judge agrees, and all Godot proceedings are stayed. The media is cynical, widely condemning the ruling as a loophole victory for the claimants. 'Public confidence in the justice system, already shaky at best, is further eroded.

BY LARISSA RUDERMAN

UV Crossword 17. epidermal cell-derived thymocyte activating factor (acronym) 18. Rawls equated justice with this 20. new sec recruit 25. U ofT bridge weeks have gone __ (two words) 26. Yo Yo 27. escape 29. not base 30. pub brew 32. a right of immediate or future enjoyment that cannot be altered without the consent of the party having the right 33. a quid pro quo 34. body of water

(

Across L a rule that when literal compliance is impossible the intention of a donor or testator should be carried out as nearly as possible (two words) 6. laughter 7. __ in action OR past tense decisional verb 9. delay (two words) 12. by the fact itself 15. Mensa approved card game 16. the red Tory "chief'

Down 1. Second Cup's "tea" tea 2. a sharp cry 3. stage 4. that mildly disturbing rush of pleasure at others' misfortunes 5. new 8. responds with derision 10. fetched 13. reference 17. assortment of processed leaves 18. written legal arguments 19. shortly 2 I. Santa's greeting 22. experience again 23. not even 24. federal privacy legislation 26. even the grand one is ultimately unimportant 28. ingests 29. association of Americans with blood sugar problems 3 I. Socratic biz org professor

Anyone can be funny.

But only 'rue geniuses can Hjitn1fJ7'ii verse.

UV Limerick Contest!

The Details: Funniest

verse

Ultra News: Not-50-Real News From Around the Law School Administration Denies Intentional Delay

First-years encounter lines despite "excellence"

Marlene Haughton, a.k.a. "the locker fairy," flatly denied allegations that third year locker assignments were deliberately delayed to foil plans for frosh bazing.

Haughton said in a telephone interview that there was "no administrative push" to stop third years from using their lockers to , store first year students. However, anony'molls sources report that Associate Dean Lome Sossin is still "shaken and traumatized" from spending the entire first week of law school shoved in a locker and missing all of orientation. <Max Matas

Sossin takes page from Mackenzie King playbook, seeks counsel from embalmed dog

vided they fill out a form and scratch

Sossin's ears.

Though Sossin admires and aspires to maintain a King-like level of popularity, the In the grand tradition of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, . Associate Dean is careful to distance himself from the former Prime Minister. "For Associate Dean Lome Sossin unveiled instance: I have six University degrees plans to appoint his dead cockapoo, Woofy wihle Mackenzie King had only five, I'm Sossin, as official Associate Decanal not an occasionally heartless anti-Semite, Advisor. and I would cenainly never ask the spirit of "This isn't about nepotism:' Sossin Louis Pasteur for advice - what'd he ever explained, "it's about hiring the best person do besides milk?"

(Woofy hates being referred to as an ani- Lisa Minuk mal) for the job, just like Mackenzie King did."

"Woofy cares deeply procedural fairness," Sossin added, "and .his conviction that fair procedures make fair outcomes has really influenced my approach to academic In an exclusive interview with Ultra appeals." Students who wish to appeal a grade are now guaranteed a hearing, pro- Vires, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler

SCC appointment process revealed

wins

• Other notable verses next issue of UV

23

ULTRA NEWS

14 SEPTEMBER 2004

Let' U5 ReCAP wU,.tr IiAPP Ei'J~ ,,., 'lJJo3 -(jf:

will be printed in the

Verses must be in limerick form: AABBA

described the process by which the justices of me Supreme Court are appointed.

"As you can imagine." he said, "we get expressions of interest from many highlyqualified candidates, but unfortunately we don't have room on the Supreme Court for everyone. Still, we do manage to interview a lot of people. We like to start with a preliminary 20-rninute interviews. Then, those who impress us will get invited back to a second interview, maybe meet a few more people. We like someone who's a good fit:' What are the main criteria for choosing the best candidates for the country's highest court? "Well, we look at their resumes and stuff," said Cotler, "but essentially it just comes down to grades."

- Oren Sick

OCls moved to frosh week In an effort to capitalize on their lavish contributions to frosh week, several Bay street firms have successfully lobbied the Law Society to move On-Campus Interviews for second year summer jobs to frosh week.

Goodmans representative Louise dismissed suggestions that the change will make it more difficult to distinguish between applicants. "We absolutely do not feel that the earlier hiring period will affect our ability to pick out the best looking students. in fact," she added, "ability to stay impossibly dewy during frosh week is highly correlated to post-graduation attractiveness!"

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg took are taking the opportunity to integrate the "Sisyphus" portion of their interview into the frosh week schedule. Applicants who master the putting green after cheerfully toting the CED up and down the stairs of the Bora Laskin Lihrary place for 14 hours straight while talking about squash and neatly eating over-ripe mangoes are clear "Davies material," said one recruiter.

The policy is oat without its detractors.

Blakes partner Calvin would have preferred recruitment to begin in kindergarten.

- Lisa Minuk

_.-r~~fJI.M LJHE.LE

lit

UA~

A!.T/c.L.e

• Anonymous judging: Names will be removed from submissions before they are passed on to the Diversions editor and the judging committee Email as many submissions as you like to ultra.vires@utoronto.ca

by Thursday, October 14.

1 st Prize: $50 Gift Certificate at the KEG of your choice 2nd Prize: A handshake back

for dinner

and a slap on the

11t~ RfIlSO,JOZ PO"NDltJiT PMi"l'IeR .ftJ/../u.s SZ~rJ-r

For inspiration: Lord Denning is one famous Brit, Whose oeuvre is renowned for its wit, His love for cricket in summer Made Miller say "bummer" Also, "BUrney - goddamn and shit!"

... AND

F=J~eJ:>

S~o;...

])J$'A PP fl.,ol/EJ) .•.

...:.

•

•

The solution will be printed on the UV website at

www.ultravires.ca. ~

-

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